Super Robot Wars G
by Lily Nadesico
Summary: Join Mist Rex and his companions as they find themselves embroiled in a war for the survival of two worlds, as several facions struggle for dominance! A joint project with Alex Yamato and Rpgingmaster, inspired by Super Robot Taisen K.
1. Chapter 1

**SUPER ROBOT TAISEN G**

**A Super Robot Wars fan fiction by Lily Nadescio and Alex Yamato**

**With edits and technical support by Rpgingmaster**

**Welcome to my newest project, fellow Super Robot fans! I know it's a bit strange for me to start a new SRW story when I still have mine to update - and I hope I'll be able to do so soon - but this fan fiction is one that I was eager to start off, as it is the result of a collaboration between myself and two other fans of this awesome crossover series - by the way, the upcoming Super Robot Wars Z2 is going to have both Code Geass and Gurren Lagann! Doesn't this make you all tingly in anticipation?**

**Anyway, yes... some time ago, I received a PM from my friend Alex Yamato, proposing me a collaboration to write a new SRW story based on the plot of K, but undergoing substantial modifications and featuring a slightly different roster of series. I accepted and, after watching a few episodes of series I didn't know enough about, I got off my lazy butt and started writing! I hope this fan fiction will be as successful, if not more, than my previous ones!**

**Super Robot Wars and all related trademarks belong to Banpresto, used without permission, no rights reserved. This fan fiction has only been written for fun and to test my own writing skills, so... in other words, I'm making no money out of it!**

**By the way, if you're curious - the G in the title stands for Gattai, which is Japanese for Combination. The reason for this title is that, well, there are so many combining robots in this one that it just seemed to fit! **

_**Series Represented**_

Banpresto Originals (SRW K)

Mobile Suit Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memories

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (A New Translation)

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack

After War Gundam X

Turn A Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny CE 73 Stargazer

Fafner of the Azure: Dead Aggressor

Zoids: Guardian Force

Zoids: New Century Zero

Shinkon Gattai Godannar

Koutetsushin Jeeg

GaoGaiGar FINAL (no Sol Masters)

Gaiking: Legend of Daiku Maryu

Gun x Sword

Gravion Zwei

Genesis of Aquarion

Dancougar Nova

**Quite an interesting roster, if I can give my humble opinion! Okay, then... if there are no more things to be said, I guess we can start with the prologue... and then, get thrust directly in the midst of the action! Get ready for a wild ride!**

**And of course, enjoy!  
**

**Prologue**

_Two hundred years into the future, shortly after the inauguration of the Star Calendar. Mankind had just managed to grow beyond the limitations imposed by their own planet, rising to expand in space. Optimism about the Earth's future was universal._

_Unfortunately, that was when Earth was plunged into the depths of a war of unprecedented proportions. Some fifty years previous, humanity already had to weather the assault of Empress Himika's "Great Jama Empire", followed by the first appearances of the Mimetic Beasts. These creatures were accompanied by a growing number of disappearances and abductions, more than enough to instill fear and distrust of the unknown in mankind. It was during these decades that the rift between the genetically optimized "Coordinators" and the unmodified "Naturals" became too large for society to ignore, and tensions began to rise between the new space born generations and the Earth's elite. Along with the disaster came the appearance of the Shadow angels, winged beings with unexplainable powers who could not die of old age, and who immediately began infecting human cities on Earth to harvest human beings, dubbing them as "the wingless ones", like cattle._

_The Jama Empire's invasion was halted that half a century ago by mysterious barriers called "Zones", which trapped the Jama on Kyushu. The Mimetic Beasts also disappeared at the climax of the five-year War of the Titans. With these menaces and Earth's cities rebuilt, everyone assumed peace had returned to the world._

_Yet, in the shadow of the recovery, relationships between Naturals and Coordinators had worsened, and the schism between those living in space colonies and those remaining on Earth was growing ever larger with each passing moment. The tension culminated when the Side 3 colonies declared themselves independent under the name of Principality of Zeon and, under the rule of the Zabi family, declared open war on the Earth Federation, quickly gaining the upper hands thanks to their new weapons - Mobile Suits._

_It was only the creation of a new Federation weapon that managed to turn the tide of the war against Zeon - the RX-78 Gundam, a one-of-a-kind Mobile Suit created to outperform anything Zeon had on its side. With the death of Sovereign Gihren Zabi, the Principality collapsed, and a temporary peace was forged._

_However, that still wasn't the end of it. Other colonial powers were joining forces under the banner of ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty), trying to free themselves from the Federation's oppressive yoke. The tragedy of the Bloody Valentine and the result of Operation Stardust signed the beginning of a new war, which only ended when all ringleaders on all sides had been destroyed._

_Just then, an urban legend began to circulate about a mighty robot interfering in the battlefields, always fighting for the losing side and turning the tide of the battle, but never quite finishing off the opponent. It was believed that the motivation behind these interventions was to keep all sides under control, so that nobody could get significantly more powerful than the others... but those speculations were never confirmed._

_At the same time, the invasion of the Zonder was halted by the appearance of a new powerful robot - GaoGaiGar and the Gutsy Geoid Guard._

_To maintain peace after the end of the Bloody Valentine war, peace treaties were signed for all sides... but in the midst of the recovery, the Federation established the Titans, a ruthless and brutal military organization used to violently quench any dissent among the space colonies and PLANTs. It was believed that the Titans were closely working with the remnants of Blue Cosmos, the anti-Coordinator organization which had played an important role in the Bloody Valentine War._

_While new tensions are mounting between Earth and the colonies, Earth is now being attacked once again by mysterious enemies - not half a year ago, the Zevavire descended on Earth, being barely stopped by the power of the new Super Robot Gravion. Strange disappearances have once again been verified, and the Shadow Angels are beginning to get more aggressive in their harvest of human beings. To defeat them, the secret organization DEAVA has risen in an attempt at resistance, being secretly backed up by more moderate factions of the Earth Federation._

_The scars of war are still fresh upon mankind, but the people are doing their best to hang on the hard-won peace and wish to only spend their days quietly. But, now that the Space Calendar has reached Year 205, no one realizes that a new, unfathomable terror is approaching head-on..._

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Author's note: Well, nothing too fancy here, this was just the prologue. Next chapter begins the real story, with the introduction of the new protagonist... and some more clarification on what happened during the back story. Stay sharp, because I'll try to update this story as soon as I can!**

**See you soon!**

**Lily**


	2. Wedding Bell Tolls For Battle!

**Super Robot Taisen G**

**Welcome back to my newest Super Robot Taisen story, everyone! It has been some time since I posted the first chapter, and I guess it was about time for me to start with the real meat of the story! In the previous chapter, which was in fact nothing more than an introduction, I've been explaining the background of this story, and I've given you a lowdown of the series that will be used. However, this chapter will introduce you all to the main character of the story and of the Super Robot Taisen K game, one Mist Rex who will surely have a lot of secrets to reveal to us as the plot develops! Of course, I think you're all eager to know what's this all about, huh? Can't blame you for thinking like this...**

**Okay then... let us take a deep breath and dive into the world of heroics and hot-bloodedness of Super Robot Taisen. And, more specifically, to the Dannar Base, where all our adventures can begin!**

**Oh, by the way, Rpgingmaster, I'm afraid I had to cut the **_**Portal**_** reference... it just didn't mesh with the rest of the chapter... I'm sorry...**

**Anyway...**

**Happy reading, and be sure to send me a review to tell me what you think of this chapter!**

**Chapter 1 - Wedding Bell Tolls For Battle**

_A pitched battle in the heart of space._

_A cacophonic mess of blinding colors and horrific explosions, taking away lives by the dozens with every second that passed._

_A losing battle of a group of heroic resistance warriors against an army of faceless, heartless robotic monstrosities that swarmed them from all sides, efficiently dispatching anyone who failed to keep up with their relentless onslaught._

_The red robot who had, up until that moment, been leading a squad of companions against the incoming invaders had been separated from his comrades, and the pilot had been helpless to do anything as the robotic monsters slaughtered his squadron to the last man, only leaving a heap of burnt carcasses behind. With almost reckless abandon, it seemed determined to at least take down as many opponents as he could before inevitably expiring as the pilot screamed in rage, unleashed a large weapon looking like an hybrid of gun and sword from behind his robot's back, and impaled one of the invaders. _

_The hapless target (an elongated green robot that looked somewhat like an oversized gun) was vivisected with a brutal hit to its broadside causing it to unceremoniously detonate. As it did, the red robot flew away from the wreckage of his downed opponent, his pilot still searching for enemies upon which to vent his despair and his frustration... and in his rage, he almost raised his weapon against the new target coming into view before seeing that it was a friendly: a much thinner and more streamlined aqua-green robot, wielding a small pistol with a serrated blade hooked to its barrel._

_"Mist! Mist! It's me, Angelica!" a female voice called out to him from the green robot's cockpit, one hand raised in order to stop the enraged pilot from doing anything reckless. Luckily, her words seemed to have an effect on the crazed pilot, who immediately calmed down and looked at the green robot, as if to assess the truth of her words. Finally, Mist breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized the person in front of him._

_"Phew... dammit, Angelica, for a moment I actually thought you were an enemy... these buggers just don't stop coming! We're fighting a losing battle!"_

_Angelica let out a sigh of relief herself in response before turning her attention back at the job at hand and shooting another of the smaller drones before it could make a collision course with her machine. An azure laser beam collided head-on with the incoming threat, who quickly dotted the sky with yet another fireball, but the battle had yet to end as several more of its companions came up from behind it, forcing Mist and Angelica to madly dodge their opponents' attacks._

_As they initiated an emergency evasion drill, Mist exclaimed,_

_"You're telling me that! It seems that no matter how many of these guys we down, they just keep on coming!" _

_As he said this, he used his sword-gun to deflect a few laser beams headed for his Revlias, and as he did this he managed to gasp out,_

_"My squad... had already been annihilated... I could do nothing to save them... There were just too many of them, and not enough of us-"_

_Angelica's voice cracked slightly. "Same goes for me... we fought as well as we could but in the end... I was the only survivor of my squad!" she stated. "Central Command reports that the invaders have breached through our last lines of defense, and our remaining forces are too weakened and too thinly spread out to mount a counterattack. What can we do, Mist?"_

_He realized that was a very good question, and unfortunately, not one that he had an answer for. In fact, there was no time to think of one when the countless enemies swarming them from every side were taken into account (which they were barely keeping in check). The only thing they could do at the moment was try to survive as well as they could, and even that seemed nigh impossible. _

_Especially because the situation was looking bleaker and bleaker with every minute, and the planet they had fought long and hard to defend was on the verge of succumbing to this faceless, relentless enemy which they continued to pour their already drained energies (both mechanical and biological) into fending off._

_A moment later, another spherical robot blew up after being sliced in half by Mist's weapon, but three more with front mounted heavy artillery attacked his Revlias, doing obscene damage to his armor and almost blowing off an arm in the process. Mist grit his teeth as he maneuvered away from the swarm of drones, him and Angelica shooting them down as they approached. Afterward, when a merciful lull in the melee resulted, the duo retreated slightly to assess their situation and the damage done to the Revlias, before a call from their consoles diverted their attention._

_"Mist... Mist, boy... can you hear me...?" a scrambled, mature-sounding voice called out from their intercoms. "Angelica... are you still alive...? Answer me... please..."_

_"Commander Elric!" Mist answered, quickly activating his own comm. channel. "Commander Elric, this is Mist! Do you copy?"_

_Angelica allowed herself a small smile. "Father, you're still alive! That's a relief..." she answered. "Where are you now? What can we do? These monsters are overtaking us!"_

_"We're losing badly, I'm afraid..." Elric's voice said from the Revlias and the Celius' comm. devices. "We... were unprepared for such an opponent... I'm afraid this is where we make our last stand..."_

_"That can't be true!" Mist protested. "There must still be something we can do to stop them!"_

_"Mist is right, father! There must be something we haven't tried yet... or do you mean to say that all we've fought for was in vain?" was Angelica's desperate plea, though even to her own ears it sounded like a vain cry against the inevitable._

_Sadly, it was more and more clear by the minute that this was just a futile hope. The ranks of their compatriots were getting thinner and thinner with every second, while the enemy horde seemed to become more numerous instead, every downed opponent immediately substituted by three or more. There was no way the resistance could hold out much longer..._

_"I... I'm sorry, kids, but I'm afraid there is.. no... " Elric started to answer, before the lines got scrambled and the message was lost, leaving Mist and Angelica to fend for themselves in the increasingly chaotic battlefield. Biting back a curse, both soldiers prepared to sustain the next wave of incoming opponents..._

_But they were denied whatever they had in mind. A bright flash dazzled both Mist and Angelica as they prepared to push their robots forward despite all odds being against them, and both pilots were forced to shield their eyes in order not to be blinded. Space itself seemed to warp around the two, and a countless number of the same semispherical robots they had been fighting not a few moments later simply winked into existence an instant later, and the infinite, elegant blackness of space was swallowed by a kaleidoscope of feverish colors which swirled around in a vortex of insanity._

_At the same time his eyes were being assaulted by this hellish vista of light and color, Mist was forced to cover his ears as an ear-piercing primal scream, coming from nowhere at all, resonated in his Revlias' cockpit, to which he screamed in his anguish,_

_"What... What the Hell is going on here?"_

_The disembodied scream warped itself into a cacophony of sound and dissonant tones, and more ominous forms began taking shape in front of him and Angelica, as a new, even greater host of enemies began swarming the fractured resistance forces, overwhelming them within a moment's idle whim. Mist screamed again as some unseen force began driving him away, and all he could see were swirling colors that threatened to break his mind..._

_He screamed again... and again... and again..._

_..._

_..._

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

As he sat up in his bed covered in cold sweat he looked around, hoping that the horrific nightmare was also a lie.

Much to his relief, the sight that appeared in front of him was much more relaxing than what he had experienced in that horrible nightmare. He was in his bed, in the quarters he had been using for three months now, after he had found himself on this unknown planet, and had begun living there, trying to put the past behind him. The room was almost completely shrouded in darkness, the only faint light coming from a digital alarm clock placed near the side of his bed, showing that it was barely 3 AM. In that faint light, it was possible to see a table with various drawing instruments laid upon it, and a few boxes that lay forgotten on the floor, seeming to suggest that Mist had not gotten around to do some work on his quarters.

After a few tense minutes, Mist managed to calm down his racing heart, but the images that had been burned in his mind would not leave that easily. The terrible memories were still fresh, of people mass-murdered by faceless invaders, of planets being razed to the ground and raided of everything of value... and of comrades lost forever in a desperate struggle against opponents that could never be defeated.

Even now, light years away from his failure, the past was coming back to haunt him...

"That damned nightmare... again..." Mist murmured to himself as he placed a hand on his forehead, wiping away the sweat covering it...

**oooooooooo**

The next day.

Dannar Base. One of the main strongholds of the human race, a place where new weapons are created and maintained, and whose personnel always have to be on alert for menaces to mankind coming either from below the Earth or from the space above their heads. More to the point, the place where one of the Super Robots who distinguished themselves the most during the previous wars was created - Godannar, one of the greatest robots Japan could ever count on, which had saved Japan and possibly the whole world from the rampaging Mimetic Beasts, hideous monstrosities of unknown origin and incredible power. Though it hadn't been a painless victory, and many pilots had had to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to allow humanity to win the day.

Even then, Dannar Base was constantly on the move, ready for an emergency which could come up at any moment. However, at the moment, the atmosphere inside Dannar Base was definitely lighter and happier, and the workers seemed to be putting even more effort than usual in their duty... and while it might have seemed strange to an outsider, things would have seemed a lot more understandable were anyone to inquire into the reasons for such enthusiasm.

"Come on, everyone, hurry it up with those repairs, everyone!" the Dannar Base's chief mechanic, Shibakusa, called out to the rest of the staff: he was a rather burly dark-skinned man with a fringe of crimson red among his otherwise rather plain dark brown hair, and a matching goatee on the tip of his chin, wearing a wide-sleeved orange working suit and white protective gloves; at 39 years of age, he was one of the oldest workers at Dannar Base, and because he was also the one with the most years of service under his belt, he was affectionately nicknamed "Pops" by pretty much all those who worked under him. "Ya don't wanna have leftover work for tomorrow, ya hear? I wouldn't miss the big event for the life of me!"

"We know, Pops, we know..." one of the mechanics - who, for some strange reason, seemed to be mostly girls - answered him."Still, who'd have thought we'd finally see the day? Finally, Mr. Goh and Anna are tying the knot!"

"Well, what can I say... I'm happy for them!" answered a male voice, as a rather tall young man with wild red hair, who seemed to be about in his early twenties, came up from behind the group of mechanics and laid a box filled with tools and pieces of equipment on the ground, near the robotic weapon they were working on. "After all the trouble they've had for setting up a day for the marriage, one'd think the Mimetic Beasts, or whatever else, would at least let them catch a break! Though I guess they will still be having some trouble with the age issue. I mean, Anna is what, ten years younger than him?"

"Twelve actually..." Shikabusa answered, coming up to the group of mechanics to lend a hand in the repairs. "And, yes, it was not easy on them... on Go, especially. After all, he did lose his partner in a previous battle with those things... and it wasn't easy for him to let go of the past and convince himself to start over again."

"I can understand that..." the red-haired man said, with a sigh that hinted that this was somewhat of a sore spot for him as well. The young man did not really look like a typical Japanese man, and the rather unkempt reddish-orange hair he was sporting was a dead giveaway already... but more than that, his rather tan complexion and the almost unnaturally bright blue of his eyes would have given anyone who ever saw him the feeling that this young man was something more than a mere human. At the moment, he was wearing what the Dannar Base personnel had come to see as his everyday clothes - a yellow short-sleeved jacket with black highlights on his collar, shoulders and the edge of his sleeves, with a dark orange shirt underneath that clung quite neatly to his body, allowing a well-muscled yet still slim physique to be seen; long white trousers kept by a heavy-looking maroon belt; and white boots that went up to the knee and seemed to be joined to the pants of his legs. He looked like an everyday youth for some aspects... and yet, it was clear that he was no ordinary person just by looking at him - there was something in his demeanor and even in his small gestures that suggested there was much more to him than met the eye.

For 20-year-old Mist Rex, in any event, life as an aide at Dannar Base had become rather comfortable, ever since he showed up mysteriously on their doors, no less than three months before. Homeless and in desperate search for a place where he could be accepted and work, the young man had offered his services to Dannar Base, in exchange for a roof above his head, and three meals a day. And that was pretty much all the Dannar Base knew about him, or to better say, that was all Mist's amnesia, which had hit him at some point in the past, allowed him to remember. He had said that he didn't know where he had come from, why he was wandering around without a goal, why he was virtually penniless... in other words, he had only been able to give out his full name and age, and the fact that he was desperately looking for a place where he could work and earn at least the bare minimum to survive.

Luckily for him, the personnel of Dannar Base had been very understanding. Field Commander Kagemaru, and the head scientist, Dr. Kiriko Aoi, had readily accepted him and offered him a place. Mist had proven to be a very good mechanic not long after, and that had convinced Dr. Aoi to allow Mist to join the Dannar Base mechanics, of which there always seemed to be a shortage. Mist had taken to his new job very well, and had managed to find a place to belong to, hoping that his dark past would never be discovered, nor would it come back to haunt him. He had already seen too many people die without ever being able to do anything about it...

Mist shook his head, mentally reprimanding himself for once again being so negative about it when it really wasn't necessary. Up until now, nothing really out of the ordinary had happened, so was there any reason to believe things were going to be different? Furthermore, it just wouldn't do to be all gloomy and doomy just when a joyous occasion such as Dr. Aoi's daughter getting married was coming up!

With a smile that looked a bit forced to him as well, Mist cracked his knuckles and got back to work. "Well... whatever the case is, I can only wish good luck to the two newlyweds! I do wonder what they must be feeling right now..."

**oooooooooo**

Not too far away from Dannar Base, a tall, well-built man more than six feet in height, wearing an elegant white suit and small looking glasses, his short dark brown hair orderly combed, was slowly making his way towards a lone gravestone, surrounded by bright green fields and by a series of iron fences. As he reached the place, he lay down a bouquet of bright red roses upon the tombstone, upon which the name of one Mira Ackermann was chiseled, and solemnly knelt down to pray for the peace of whoever was buried in there.

So intent was Goh Saruwatari in paying his respects to the dead, that he almost didn't notice when an elderly priest dressed in a black Catholic dress came up from behind him, looking at him in a fatherly way, and stood in silence along with him for quite a few seconds before speaking up.

"You know, son... it has been five years since then." the older man said. "It is not my place to take a decision in your stead, but I would say that this is more than enough time to put the past behind you and start looking forward. After all, you too have a right to happiness, with whoever it might be. You cannot keep punishing yourself for your mistakes for the rest of your life. This would not be what she would want, either."

Goh, a broad-shouldered man of about thirty years of age, his face already signed by anxiety and sorrow, and giving off an air of kindness despite his imposing physique, slowly turned his head to the priest and sighed. This was always a sore spot with him... "Maybe what you say is true, father... but the real question is, has she forgiven me?" he said softly, before looking again at the tombstone with sad, dark brown eyes half-hidden by the lenses of his glasses. The dates of birth and death weren't too far apart, and in fact it could easily be seen that the person had died when she was barely 23 years old.

"_It's awkward..._" Goh thought to himself. "_Only now that I've found again that part of myself that's been missing for a long time, I am finally able to bring myself to say... thank you, Mira... I will never forget you._"

The priest nodded in assent. "I am sure that she's watching over you even now as we speak. Take care, lost lamb. May God bless you and your companion as you begin your new journey."

"Thank you, father..." Goh answered as he bowed and began walking away from the graveyard, with newfound courage.

"_And this time... I will fulfill my promise._"

**oooooooooo**

The very next day...

Weddings are known to be joyous occasions... and the one between Goh Saruwatari and 17-year-old Anna Aoi was not going to be an exception to this rule. Pretty much everyone that knew the happy new couple had been invited, and was now standing in front of the church, happily chatting amongst themselves, or simply enjoying the festive, sunny weather. The only exceptions to the rule were a few key members of the Dannar Base personnel, such as Commander Kagemaru, whose presence was vital in the eventuality that a sudden emergency came. Other than that, however, mostly everyone had been accounted for... and among the guests, a group of colorful-looking teenagers was standing near the steps of the church, looking around themselves and trying to fit in... despite the fact that some of them didn't really look at ease in that environment.

"Oh, man... this tux is gonna kill me!" a young man with fiery, messy red hair complained as he tried to fix the collar of his purple dress. "Tch, I was never the kinda guy for this kind of social niceties, anyway! I don't fit in this kind of ceremonies!"

"Oh, quit your bellyaching, Eiji Shigure!" a teenage girl with long light brown hair tied in a ponytail and wearing an elegant red dress complete with a long skirt and high-heeled shoes, reprimanded him somewhat harshly. "After all, it's not every day you get invited to a wedding, so you might as well behave yourself for once!"

"Hmph... I don't think I ever asked you, Miss-Know-It-All!" Eiji snarked back. "And anyway, I do get it, but what I ask myself is: why do I HAVE to attend this thing. Not that I'm not happy for the lovebirds, but I just know that the whole thing will drag on until late evening!"

Another young man about Eiji's age - which meant to say, around 17 years old -, dressed in a spotless white tux that sharply contrasted with his short blue hair and deep blue eyes, smiled nicely at the redhead. "Well, there is no helping it now, is there?" Touga Tenkugi asked rhetorically. "After all, the Dannar Base personnel has been a close ally of us Gran Knights for quite some time now, and it's thanks to them as well that we were able to fight off the Zevavire for so long. The least we can do is take part at the marriage of their chief scientist's daughter, don't you agree?"

The brown-haired girl, 14-year-old Luna Gusuku, crossed her arms in front of her and nodded to Touga's logic. "Yep, yep... you should take a hint from Touga, Eiji! He knows how to act like a real gentleman!" she answered, nose in the air. Eiji sighed and gave up, understanding that there was no way he could get his point across to people like those two... and in any case, the rest of the Gran Knights personnel seemed to be enjoying their time there.

"Alright then..." Eiji sighed, his eyes wandering to where the leader of their group, the famous multi-millionaire Klein Sandman, was standing. Dressed in an expensive violet tux, his purple hair neatly combed and kept in a fringe on his forehead, the leader of the Gran Knights seemed to be chatting with the mother of the bride-to-be, surrounded by a group of people who seemed eager for Sandman to turn his attention to them. It was no secret; after all, that Klein Sandman was a popular person in several circles...

"On behalf of the Gran Knights, and as your allies in keeping the peace on Planet Earth, I would like to extend to you and your daughter my most sincere congratulations over this important achievement." Sandman was saying to Dr. Aoi, a still youthful-looking woman in about her early forties, with long red hair and small looking glasses, her lips tinted a full ruby red and her black suit standing out quite a bit among the other guests.

Dr. Aoi shook on the hand Sandman was extending to her. "We are most grateful for your kind words, Mr. Sandman." she answered politely. "It is, in fact, a very important moment in my daughter Anna's life... and as for the future husband, this will be a chance for him as well to start over, after the tragedy that befell him in the past."

"Goh Saruwatari, if I recall correctly." Sandman said, sympathizing with the former pilot's predicament. "It was a sad blow, indeed. I heard he used to be the best pilot Dannar Base could count on... but after what happened, I cannot blame him for reacting the way he did. It is my hope that he can find happiness again with your daughter."

"Thank you for your words, Mr. Sandman... Now, I'm afraid I cannot remain here anymore." Dr. Aoi said, politely excusing herself. "My daughter still has to finish all preparations, and I need to be there to support her, after all."

"Understandable." Sandman answered. "If that is the case, I am not going to hold you up. Again, I extend to you and your daughter my best wishes for a happy future."

"Thank you, Mr. Sandman. Much appreciated." the Dannar Base chief scientist answered, before bowing and making her way through the crowd and towards her daughter's changing room, where Anna was more than probably finishing putting her wedding dress on. With a knowing nod, Sandman watched her go away, then turned to the many people who seemed to be swarming around him, bombarding him with questions.

"So, Mr. Sandman... have you received more demands for collaboration from the higher-ups of the Atlantic Federation?"

"What are your thoughts on the rising tensions between Earth and the Colonies?"

"Is your group going to lend some military aid to the Titans?"

"Please, gentlemen... I shall answer your questions shortly." the purple-haired billionaire answered calmly. "As for the Atlantic Federation and the Titans... the Gran Knights have no allegiance with either of those parties, nor do we plan on ever entertaining a collaboration with them. Ideologically speaking, we have found ourselves greatly at odds with the Atlantic Federation's anti-Coordinator policies..."

As Sandman tried his best to give a short, yet still satisfying answer to the curious lot's questions, Eiji Shigure sighed and walked back to where Luna and Touga were, along with the other members of the Gran Knights: Eina, a clumsy green-haired girl with glasses; the blonde and buxom Mizuki Tachibana, who seemed to be right at home in such an environment; and the shy violet-haired Leele, accompanied as usual by her pet ferret Lolette. All of them were waiting for him near the steps leading to the church, and Eiji decided that, at this point, the best thing to do was to just enjoy the wedding as much as he could...

"_I have to wonder, how's Raven doing back home?_" Eiji asked himself as his mind wandered. "_We kinda left him to look after the mansion..._"

**oooooooooo**

Meanwhile, at the huge mansion Sandman and the Gran Knights called home...

"I get it that Mr. Sandman and our pilots needed to be present at Ms. Aoi's wedding..." the mysterious masked man, Raven, said to himself as he sttod in the computer room, along with a few of the castle's maids, who were sitting at the consoles monitoring the situation. "I am perfectly okay with that. After all, the Dannar Base personnel are our allies, and it would be impolite to just turn down their offer. But I do ask myself... why are we the ones who get to stay behind and look after home?"

"Want some coffee, Mr. Raven?" one of the maids asked innocently, holding up a steaming cup towards the red-haired man with the silver mask.

Raven immediately switched back to his polite, impersonal tone. "Yes, please. No sugar."

**oooooooooo**

Kiriko Aoi breathed out a small cloud of smoke as she held a small cigarette between her fingertips. "The stomach is starting to show, Anna... are you comfortable about that?" she asked with a small smile, as she turned to her daughter, who was already garbed in her pure white wedding dress.

Anna Aoi, a pretty girl of about seventeen who looked like a teenage version of her mother, sans the glasses, with light brown eyes and with a rather more tomboyish haircut, giggled cutely as she petted an orange-striped, and obviously pregnant, female cat lying on a cushion in front of her. "Hehee... I'm just a little surprised about the kittens, Mom... actually, I'm surprised Pi-pi is actually a girl!" she answered.

Kiriko sighed. "And I am surprised you never knew in the five years we've had her..."

"That's okay, it just means our family will be bigger now!" Anna answered nonchalantly, her eyes shining with happiness. She was about to add something else, before someone else gently knocked at the door and peeked inside, worried about not bothering mother and daughter.

"Excuse me?" Shinobu Saruwatari, Goh's much younger brother, a rather plain-looking boy with short light brown hair and a clean face, looking about Anna's age and wearing a red jacket over a white shirt, and black trousers, said as he opened the door. "My brother is... Wah! A... Anna, is that you? You... you look so beautiful!" he stammered, as he looked at the bride-to-be: that wedding dress made her look like a lot more adult than she actually was, and there was a definite levity and happiness in her posture that only managed to make her look more attractive... to the point where Shinobu could not resist the temptation and got in front of Anna, gently holding her hands! "Will you marry me, Anna?"

After a second of bewilderment, Anna giggled i amusement. "Heheee... you're so silly, Shinobu!"

"Hey, kid. You have to wait outside." Kiriko deadpanned, her cigarette back in her mouth. With a sigh, the youthful-looking scientist closed her eyes and began thinking back on how that all started. It could be very well said that it all started when Goh's partner, Mira Ackerman, was killed in the final battle with the Mimetic Beasts, only five years before. That was the occasion during which Godannar, the strongest robot of Dannar Base, had managed to save her daughter's life during the last attack of the Mimetic Beasts.

There was a time where Kiriko had thought her daughter was going to become one of the Dannar Base's pilots as soon as she graduated. She never thought her daughter would get married so young, and to a man who was more than ten years her senior to boot. But then again, fate had a way to be strange... and after an heartfelt talk with Anna, who had expressed her desire to become a mother just like Kiriko was, Kiriko was left with little choice but to accept her daughter's wishes.

Taking a glance at her wristwatch, Kiriko saw that it was almost time for the wedding to begin and slowly stood up from her chair. "Well then, Anna... shall we go?" she asked as she walked towards her daughter and looked at her lovingly in the face. "You look so beautiful, my dear Anna... congratulations, I know you will be a great wife for Goh! But remember, dear... marriage is like a battle; it's shoot or be shot. So give him a good one, because whether it's about family or peace, the most important part is the beginning. Never forget that."

"I won't, Mom..." Anna said, her voice almost cracking with happiness and emotion. "Thank you very much for being there for me!"

"Anytime." Kiriko finished. Shinobu bowed to the mother and daughter duo and, after receiving their bows in return, slowly walked out of the room, trying to ignore the nagging sensation inside of his own heart that was telling him he had lost his chance to be with Anna...

**oooooooooo**

Dannar Base seemed to be rather quiet at the moment, aside from a few mechanics - Mist among those - and some backup personnel standing ready for emergencies. And peace and quiet didn't really sit well with some of the less disciplined pilots of the institution... among which, one Kouji Tetsuya, pilot of the long-range machine called G-Gunner, who was sitting on a bench near the mess hall, his hands folded behind his head and his eyes listlessly staring at the ceiling.

"Man, why do we have to stay here and guard the house?" Kouji muttered to himself. "I'm bored out of my mind... while all the others are attending the wedding and having the time of their lives! This sucks... I almost wish a Mimetic Beast came and made a bit of a mess around."

"Be careful what you wish for, Kouji, it may just came true." his partner Shizuru Fujimura, designated pilot of the Core Gunner, answered. "Just be glad there are no menaces as of yet. We wouldn't want any Mimetic Beast to cause trouble just when Commander Goh and Anna are getting married, now would we?"

"Still, anything would be better than sitting on our fat asses here!" Kouji answered. He looked like your stereotypical Super Robot pilot, with messy dark hair going in two huge sideburns on both sides of his head, wearing a red piloting suit that showed his well-trained physique rather well. He was known to be a bit of an hothead who acted before thinking, and it was probably no coincidence that his robot, the G-Gunner, was the one usually the most in need for repairs after every battle...

Shizuru, a tall, dark-haired and well-endowed woman in her mid-twenties, bristled noticeably at the mention of a certain part of her body. "Hey, speak for yourself, you jerk..." she shot back at him, before resuming her usual calm, collected tone. "Anyway, this is a special day, so we sort of need to be here and stand guard while the others party. That's the truth of our line of job... comes with the description, after all."

"Alright, alright..." Kouji conceded. "Man, what I wouldn't give to get a little bit of action out there... or just to be at Goh's wedding, at least there we'd get to eat to our heart's content at the post-celebration dinner!"

"Well, guess it's our hard luck, then!" Mist said as he came up from behind a corner and walked towards Kouji and Shizuru, a cheerful smile on his face. "At least we can be content with what the other guys will bring us from the celebration. That's enough for us who areforced to stay here, right? And knowing Anna, she will throw a small party here at Dannar Base as well."

Shizuru smiled gently. After all, Dannar Base was not known for sticking to rules and arid military regulations, and a party would not be out of the question. "Guess you're right. I just hope those two can tie the knot without a hitch..."

The three of them were suddenly silenced as soon as a distinctive, ear-piercing sound... the sound of an emergency call... reverberated through the half-empty halls of Dannar Base, causing Mist, Kouji and Shizuru to stand up with a startled expression on their faces. This, in the G-Gunner pilot's case, soon turned into an excited, toothy grin!

They all knew that unmistakable alarm could only mean one thing.

"This is..." Mist murmured.

"Yeah, it is..." Shizuru quietly answered, already not liking the situation. "It means that a Mimetic Beast, or something equally dangerous, has been sighted! We cannot lose time... we have to hurry to the hangars and get ready for launch! Come with me, Kouji!"

Much to her surprise, the cocky pilot had already stood up from his place and was already running towards the hangars, ready to get a piece of the action! "Already way ahead of ya, Shizuru! Hurry up, you slowpoke, or I'm gonna hog all the fun! Yahooo!" he exclaimed, before continuing with his mad dash towards adventure...

Shizuru sighed and turned to Mist once again. "Don't worry about us, we'll take care of this one, and be back as soon as we can!" she told the red-haired mechanic. "You stay here, and make sure not to get into trouble, okay?"

Mist's surprised expression turned serious once again, and he nodded in Shizuru's direction before the young woman headed to the hangars herself... however, deep inside of Mist, a sense of dread and restlessness was brewing up, spurred by his lingering memories of the death of his home planet. Something inside of him was telling him that he should have suited up... and joined Kouji and Shizuru in this battle! At least, he should have tried to do so... he had no idea what exactly those Mimetic Beasts were, but he wanted to at least give it a try...

As he watched Shizuru disappear in the distance, Mist took a magnetic card out of the inner pocket of his jacket and stared at it long and hard, struggling to make a decision...

**oooooooooo**

In the meantime, in a nearby church, while the wedding bells tolled joyously, the soon-to-be husband and bride stood in front of the altar and the priest, under the excited eyes of a rather large group of guests, mostly friends and allies of the Dannar Base who had been waiting for that day since the wedding had been announced. Emotion was thick in the air, as the priest began reading his part.

"Awww, will you just look at little Anna!" Eina said, standing among her comrades of the Gran Knights squadron. "She's so beautiful in her wedding dress... now I know what they mean when they say that love does indeed make a woman more beautiful!"

"Yeah... I wonder what I would look like in a wedding dress!" Luna gushed lovingly, a visible blush on her cheeks as she imagined herself standing in front of the altar in her own wedding dress, in the company of a certain blue-haired teenager that was just now standing right behind her, his eyes obliviously affixed to the lucky couple.

"They sure look like quite the lovebirds." Mizuki commented.

Eiji just sighed and stood in his place, while Leele made no actual comment about the wedding, but she kept watching, a barley-visible smile on her face, as the priest continued with the usual procedures...

"We are gathered here today, to join this man, Goh Saruwatari... and this woman, Anna Aoi... in holy matrimony. If anyone here has a reason for which this man and this woman should not be joined, speak up now, or forever hold your peace." the elderly priest said, looking at the gathered group of people. For a split second, Shinobu's mind screamed at him to speak up... but the more rational part of the younger Saruwatari sibling rejected such selfish thoughts and settled for being happy for Anna's sake.

"_Anna... congratulations!_" the young boy thought to himself, tears brimming in his eyes.

"_Who'd ever have thought I'd end up with a son-in-law so soon?_" Kiriko thought, smiling slightly as she remembered how much Goh had begged her to let her take Anna's hand in marriage. "_Heh... maybe I should have accepted sooner... but, oh well... what's done is done, I guess!_"

"I take the silence as a sign to continue." the priest went on. "Do you, Anna, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband, and swear your unwavering love to him, till death do you part?"

"Yes... Yes, I do!" Anna answered, as Shinobu choked up among the guests.

"And do you, Goh, take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife, and swear your unwavering love to her, till death do you part?" the priest asked the large man. Goh took a deep breath, but was unhesitant in his answer.

"Yes, I... Ugh... WOAH!"

Or at least, he would have been unhesitant had his glasses not filled with static right at that moment! The guests looked at him in surprise and he stumbled and awkwardly tried to keep his balance... and, after a couple seconds of fumbling around, Goh managed to get a hold of both himself and his glasses, clumsily apologized to Anna and the priest, and stood by the side of the altar, as if talking to someone on a cell phone! At the same time, Kiriko felt her own comm. device emitting an alarmed buzz from between her rather large breasts, and she quickly retrieved it, with a surprised look.

"Er... yes! Yes, it's me, Goh!" Goh whispered to someone. As it turned out, his glasses were actually a comm. device the Dannar Base personnel could use to contact him at any moment... and just then, the image of Shizuru had appeared on the lenses! "Ugh... Shizuru, did you really have to call me right now? I'm in the middle of something rather important, and..."

"_Dammit, Goh, it's urgent!_" Shizuru screamed into the comm. device. "_Once you see this, you'll fly over here whether you want to or not..._"

As Goh's expression turned to wonder and incredulity, the images flashing on the lenses of his glasses changed to show a truly shocking sight - two huge humanoid monsters, about the size of a building, with elongated heads, snapping jaws, hammer-like arms and a mud-color all over, were advancing with alarming quickness towards the coastline, with clear intent to destroy anything that crossed their way.

A cold chill ran down the former pilot's spine as he recognized the threat - it was an unwelcome memory from his past that just wouldn't go away, not even now that he was about to marry Anna... there was no mistake, those monsters were Mimetic Beasts! And of an unknown type to boot!

"Wh... WHAT?" Goh exclaimed, louder than he intended. "No... I can't believe it..."

"_Well, you better do! Kouji and I are heading out to fight in the G-Gunner and the Core Gunner... but I'm afraid we won't be enough to handle this! We need Godannar, NOW!_" the young woman exclaimed, before abruptly cutting off the transmission and leaving Goh to awkwardly face a flabbergasted audience, who was wondering just what the heck was going on... and a rather forlorn Anna, who was looking at him with those huge, expressive puppy-dog eyes, silently asking the same question.

"What just went on?" Eiji's voice could be heard among the dreadful silence.

After frantically looking around himself for a while and sweating profusely, Goh cleared his throat and tried to get out of the situation as best as he could. "Ah-ehm... I... I am deeply regretful for what just transpired... but it seems that my presence is required elsewhere! I... I am deeply sorry, everyone... Anna... I'll make sure to come back soon, so just wait for me!"

"Goh! You big jerk!" Anna exclaimed, her previous demureness taken over by outrage at having been practically left at the altar! Then, she practically threw herself at her future husband and latched around his waist, trying to drag him back in front of the surprised priest... and, despite the fact that she was at least one foot shorter than Goh, she was still managing to slow him down considerably! "Stop it now!"

"I'M SORRY! I mean it!" Goh protested, trying to get out of his future wife's vice grip as gently as possible!

"What about our wedding? It's not over yet! You didn't say 'I do' yet!" Anna tried to protest, as Goh slowly but surely made his way to the exit of the church... and the befuddled Gran Knights all turned to Sandman who, keeping his trademark cool, had produced a small comm. device from the inside of his suit and was now talking into it.

"Yes, Sandman here." he said. "Hm. I see. Yes, of course. We will be there as soon as possible. Okay. Good job, Raven. Wait for us." With that, Sandman closed the communication and raised his eyes, looking at the members of his team, who were now gathered around him, looking at him with a clear question in their eyes and mind. "My knights, I am deeply regretful to inform you that this joyous occasion must unfortunately be postponed. Hostile entities are now making their way towards the coastline. As allies of the Dannar Base, we need to aid them in repelling the threat."

Touga nodded in understanding. "Mimetic Beasts, is it, Mr. Sandman?" the blue-haired boy inquired, and his golden eyes narrowed as the billionaire nodded in assent. "It is not our field of expertise, and we have never faced those invaders before... but we can still give Dannar Base a hand."

"Then, what are we waiting for? We need to get back to the mansion and board the Gran Divas." Eiji concluded. For once, not even Luna had anything to object to that.

"Indeed." Sandman concluded. "Follow me, Gran Knights. We do not have a moment to lose."

**oooooooooo**

The G-Gunner, a heavy looking robot with a thick armor and a huge cannon - the Strong Buster, as the Dannar Base personnel had dubbed it - mounted on its right arm; and the Core Gunner, a somewhat more agile-looking robot with feminine features. Both of these, piloted by Kouji and Shizuru respectively , had managed to intercept the two advancing Mimetic Beasts as they made their way to the coastline, engaging them only a few scant meters away from what remained of a flooded city. The G-Gunner landed in the water with a huge splash, while the Core Gunner reached the top of a ruined skyscraper and began trying to take aim from there.

"We've got the enemy in sight!" Shizuru exclaimed. "No matching data found. This must be a new type of Mimetic Beast... Kouji, can we finish them off from here, without getting too close?"

"Sure! No prob! We can handle this!" the male pilot replied cockily, as he readied the Strong Buster and aimed it at one of the two advancing monsters...

**oooooooooo**

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Finally, I got around to updating this thing! Don't worry; I'll make sure next update comes faster! Next episode will feature the return to the battlefield of quite a few characters, so stand ready! The hot-blooded action is sure to begin soon!**

**Please review! I always take pleasure in reading your opinions!**


	3. Levrias Flies Again

**SUPER ROBOT TAISEN G**

**Hello, everyone! Looks like I'm back at last, and I hope you didn't have to wait too long before getting to read this new chapter of my newest Super Robot Wars saga!**

**About that, I've discovered much to my surprise that Mist isn't exactly the most popular SRW protagonist around, and that many of his actions and words simply did not sit well with many of the players who know what the characters are saying during cutscenes and such. Mostly because, that much I have to give them, he tends to come across as an hypocritical snob who looks down on Earth for not being quite as "perfect" as his home planet. I will try to integrate that side of him into my story as well... but do expect it to be toned down somewhat, and for him to be called out on such attitude.**

**Anyway, where were we the last time we saw each other?**

**Well, we were following the events of the very first episode of Godannar, with Gou and Anna about to get married... and just then, the Mimetic Beast decide to crash the wedding and force Gou back to action! In this version of events, though, we have seen that there already are some key differences... and in fact, soon enough the protagonists of Gravion Zwei will take to the battlefield again and fight alongside the Dannar Base personnel to stop the Mimetic Beasts! In the meanwhile, one has to hope that the combined forces of Kouji and Shizuru are enough to keep the new type of Mimetic Beast at bay... Of course, the fact that Mist is seriously contemplating returning to the battlefield might mean that they will have some unexpected aid soon enough!**

**Get ready, because the fanfic will start moving at a much quicker pace soon enough... which means, we might have a chance to meet with some much-beloved characters sooner than you might expect! Just give me a little time to organize myself better, and there you will have it!**

**That's it for now... enjoy the new battle with the Mimetic Beasts, and I hope it will be just as exciting as it was in the series proper! **

**Later, everyone!**

**oooooooooo**

**Chapter 3 - Levrias Flies Again**

The situation, at the church which should have seen the marriage between Goh Saruwatari and Anna Aoi, was quite awkward to say the least. Many of the guests were muttering to themselves in an alarmed manner, fearful that some new kind of enemy had appeared - which would be the only reason someone like Goh would calll off such an important event - while others were leaving, reasoning that whatever happened from then on was not their concern anyways. The Gran Knights, led by Sandman, had left earlier to return to their home base and get their combining vehicles, the Gran Divas, in order to help out... while Goh was still trying his best to reach a car parked just outside the church, his diminutive wife-to-be still clinging to his waist and comically trying to drag him back inside!

"I... I... I'm deeply sorry for that, Anna!" Goh exclaimed, trying to reach for the car as the girl kept pulling him away, angry veins popping up on her forehead! "I'll make it up to you as soon as I can! I promise!"

"Oh, no, you big oaf, you are not palming me off with that excuse!" Anna practically roared. "You just have to say, 'I do'... and we're done with this! Then you can go chasing after all the monsters you want..."

Anna's angry tirade ended abruptly when Kiriko gently placed one hand on her shoulder, firmly but calmly pulling her away from Goh. As the redhead slowly turned to her mother, the Dannar Base's chief scientist sighed in regret. "It's something Goh has to do, Anna. Please, let him go..." she murmured. Dejected and surprised, Anna relinquished her vice-like grip on her future husband, who quickly apologized yet again and climbed on board the car, with Kiriko getting on the driver's seat one moment later.

"Mom, you... you are going too?" Anna exclaimed.

"You are going to be a pilot's wife, Anna... a robot pilot's wife." Kiriko explained, sadly yet proudly. "And your Mom just happens to be your boss. That's why I wanted you to know that it would have been hard on you. Even though I never imagined that the Mimetic Beasts would choose this very day to strike."

"I'll be right back! Wait for me!" Goh called out from the passenger's seat.

With that, Kiriko slammed the door shut and turned the car on, speeding towards Dannar Base under the flabbergasted eyes of the deserted bride, who simply stared at her mother's car's retreating form, the wedding banners and flower still hanging from behind it. And here she thought it would be a joyous occasion...

And yet, Anna was too rational not to understand what her beloved and her mother had to do, even though it meant that she would need to swallow a tough pill...

"You're right, Mom... I will try to get used to it." Anna softly murmured to herself. "I AM going to be the wife of a robot pilt, after all... I'll see you later, Goh-chin... I believe in you..."

All of a sudden, Anna perked up and smiled again, her eyes shining with confidence!

"But that does NOT mean I'm just going to sit around and wait!" she decided, quickly turning to Shinobu, who had just come out of the church, holding Anna's cat in his arms. "Say, Shinobu, can I borrow your moped for a while? Sorry, but I really need it now!"

"Huh?" the flabbergasted young boy answered, still holding the pregnant female tabby in his arms. "Anna, what are you trying to..."

But Anna would not wait for an answer. Faster than Shinobu might have ever given her credit for, the redhead dashed to a light blue moped parked near the church and quickly started the engine, speeding away in the same direction her mother's car had taken a little earlier. "WH... WHAT? Hey! Hey, Anna, hold on a sec! What do you think you're doing?"

"Helping out that knuckle-head of my future husband! Take care of Pi-pi for a while, okay?" Anna answered as she increased her speed and drove right off the road and into the woods surrounding the church, like a bat out of Hell! "If I can't be at his side now, how could I call myself Goh-chin's wife! Give him a good one... right, Mom?"

Anna's borrowed moped zigzagged through the trees, breaking branches and roots as she went, getting closer and closer to where the battle was taking place...

**oooooooooo**

"Damn you... what are these things made of?" Kouji exclaimed, letting loose with a barrage from his G-Gunner's hand-mounted gatling guns, which the Mimetic Beast he was facing took without even flinching. A fair distance away, Shizuru wasn't faring much better against her own opponent: her Core Gunner's weapons were barely managing to slow down the immense beast.

Finally Kouji's opponent decided it had had enough of that annoying fly pestering it. With an eardrum-shattering roar, the hideous thing pushed the G-Gunner with its back right on top of an half-crumbled palace, shattering almost all of its glass and forcing a grunt of pain out of Kouji, who bit back a curse. The other Mimetic Beast's hammer-like arm hit the Core Gunner with the sheer power of a battering ram, tossing aside the feminine-looking robot.

"Ugh... Shizuru, you alright?" Kouji asked his female companion, whose Core Gunner had just managed to climb back to its feet and to stand on guard again.

"I can manage for now... but if Goh can't come soon, things look very grim indeed!" the young woman answered, firing a shot from her wrist-mounted rifle and hitting the Mimetic Beast square in the forehead! This time, the attack actually managed to do some damage, and the thing roared in pain as it staggered backwards, flailing its arms in the air helplessly. Shizuru allowed herself a small smirk of satisfaction, but she knew that she was not out of the woods yet: after all, Mimetic Beasts were well-known for their amazing regenerative powers...

"**Strong Buster!**" Kouji exclaimed. By hurling the G-Gunner away, the first Mimetic Beast had given the brash pilot enough time to set up his strongest weapon, his arm-mounted cannon, take aim and fire a round bullet that struck the monster in its chest, detonating upon impact and forcing the opponent back several metres as it roared in pain anf frustration.

"Yeah! How do you like it, you big hunk of crap? Think you're so badass NOW?" Kouji taunted the monster as it tried to advance once again towards him.

"Hey, Kouji, don't get cocky just now!" Shizuru warned him. "You've given it a good blow, but remember that these things don't stay down for long unless you completely destroy them! And be careful, it might have some more aces up its sleeve!"

"Got it, sis!" Kouji answered, keeping his eyes peeled as he watched the smoke clear in front of him. As he had predicted, the Strong Buster had blown a gaping hole right through the Mimetic Beast's massive body... but while such a wound would surely have been fatal for any creature from this world, in this case they were dealing with a terrifyingly powerful alien being whose biology defied all reason! "Feh, I see you aren't dead yet, you freak of nature! No matter, that just means I'll have to cut you to size again..."

But then, something happened that caused Kouji's demeanor to take a nosedive. Cast-off bits of alien flesh were detaching from the borders of the wound in the Mimetic Beast's body, falling into the waters and twitching briefly... before morphing into yet more Mimetic Beasts! Under Kouji and Shizuru's incredulous eyes, new monsters resembling a smaller version of the bigger Mimetic Beasts, with elongated maws, stubby clawed arms and huge ear-like protrusions on an eerie, eyeless face, spontaneously sprung to life. Now the only advantage the Dannar Base team had, which was a parity in numbers, had flown out of the window, as the smaller monsters gathered around their progenitors. Kouji counted at least six of the lesser Mimetic Beasts around the monster he was facing... whose gaping wound had almost finished sealing itself!

"Oh, give me a break!" the young man exclaimed. "Even wounding these things makes it worse for us!"

"I'm having the same problem here, Kouji..." Shizuru commented, looking at the four lesser monsters her opponent had spawned. "I just hope reinforcements come soon, or else we'll be in serious trouble!"

One of the lesser Mimetic Beasts advanced hungrily towards the G-Gunner, getting ready to spring upon it and tear it apart... but before it had the chance to do so, a strange buzzing sound was heard, and a piercing beam of yellow light struck the smaller Mimetic Beast without even letting it defend itself! The monster literally exploded into smithreens, its pieces scattering around and plunging in the water with a series of sickening plunges! Shuddering in revulsion and surprise, Kouji and Shizuru turned in the direction from which theattack had come... just in time to see a flying antropomorphic robot flying down towards them, wielding a strange weapon that looked like a short pistol with a curved bayonet on its barrel, its armor a bright red colour and its shoulder pads further reinforced with verniers that allowed it to keep afloat in the air! In wide-eyed wonder, Kouji and Shizuku regarded the robot as it floated down and remained in suspension in the air near them: there was no mistake about it, that robot was obviously the Levrias, Mist's personal robot with which he had arrived in Dannar Base... and which he had never used since that day, for reasons the red-haired young man had never wanted to disclose! Now, evidently knowing how dangerous the situation was, the young former pilot seemed to have had a change of mind...

"Kouji! Shizuru! Can you hear me?" Mist said in his comm. device, confirming that, in fact, the Dannar Base pilots' suppositions were right. "Mist Rex here, Levrias ready for combat! I know my intervention is kinda strange, considering the situation, but I've come to help you... Are those the Mimetic Beasts you told me about?"

"Hey, man... just in the nick of time, huh? Are we glad to see you!" Kouji answered. "Anyway... yeah, that they are! These are unknown types, so you can just call them... No. 12 for the big ones, and No. 13 for the runts!"

"Quick and to the point, huh? Okay, let's do this!" Mist commented, readying his weapon as the G-Gunner and the Core Gunner got back into a fight pose.

**oooooooooo**

Meanwhile, in the Dannar Base's control room, an image of a running Goh Saruwatari, still dressed in his white tux, popped up on the main screen, much to Kagemaru and the bridge bunnies' relief. The Dannar Base ace pilot was running towards Godannar's hangar, hoping that he was not too late to help Kouji and shizuru in their fight.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone!" Goh exclaimed, never breaking his stride. "Prepare Godannar for launch... I'll be at the hangars in no time!"

"Pilot Saruwatari? That's a relief... Kouji and shizuru won't be able to hold out for much longer!" one of the female operators said. "Mist has just gone out in the Levrias to lend a hand, but he won't be able to do it alone! Furthermore, we've detected a new kind of Mimetic Beast spawned by the unknown type. We reccomend extreme caution in dealing with this one!"

"Roger!" Goh answered. "Don't worry, I can take care of this!"

A side door slid open, allowing Kiriko Aoi access to the control room. "Brief me on the situation!" she exclaimed, intending not to waste time.

"Mist, Kouji and Shizuru are currently engaging the enemy, but we are afraid that they won't be able to defeat the hostile entities alone." Kagemaru replied stoically. "Godannar is being prepared for launch as we speak."

"Excellent... then, set Godannar on the launch platform!" Kiriko ordered. "Pilot Saruwatari, are you ready?"

A scant minute later, Goh was sitting in the Godannar's cockpit, already changed into his blue piloting suit that showed off his impressive physique. With a confidence that belied the fact that he had not been piloting for quite some time, the Dannar Base ace pressed a few buttons on his interface, starting up the mighty robot as the hangar's doors slid open, and the launch ramp came out.

After checking that everything was online and all systems were running, Goh grit his teeth and waited for his superiors to give him the dreaded order...

"Condition green!" Kagemaru exclaimed. "Godannar, move out!"

"GOOOOO!" Goh exclaimed as his robot accelerated towards the emergency zone and then soared skyward. Any onlookers impressed by the view would have noticed its outer chassis a brilliant shade of blue with a bodybuilder's torso, and its head had a stoic countenance of a warrior, and upon this brazen, unshakable visage was a golden headpiece complete with a red gem besetting the forehead. Its shoulders were rounded, with a pair of air exhausts covered by black plates, and only on its upper legs and abdomen it was possible to see the bare steel that made up its innermost structure. As Godannar's back merged with a flight module and transited the skies, Goh felt the familiar pressure forcing him down on his seat and took a deep breath, muttering to himself that this was going to be just like the old times...

If only those memories of Mira and of Godannar's last, disastrous mission weren't there to keep haunting him...

"Hold on, guys! Shizuru, Kouji, Mist, I'm coming! GODANNAR!"

**oooooooooo**

"Dammit, they just keep coming!" Mist swore, before using his bladed gun to lop off an arm from a No. 13 that had gotten too close. The smaller Mimetic Beast roared as it retreated, a disgusting fluid oozing from the stump where its right arm used to be... but apart from that, it took the injury in stride, picked up its severed arm and simply reattached it to the rest of its body, its spontaneous regeneration quickly undoing all damage. "It appears that we can't just mortally wound them and be done with it... we have to completely destroy their bodies just as I did before!"

The G-Gunner and the Core Gunner's weapons were hammering away at the No. 12s, but all of their efforts were proving useless against an invisible forcefield that the monsters had simply summoned around their bodies. "That's what we are planning to do, man... at least, as soon as we've taken down these stupid barriers!" Kouji exclaimed. He quickly raised his Strong Buster and fired again, but this time, the barrier around the monster's body managed to nullify the worst of the attack, and the Mimetic Beast came out of the smoke nothing worse for wear, forcing the hot-blooded pilot to keep his distance, uselessly firing shots from his hand-mounted gatling gun. Shizuru was not faring much better either, as while she had just managed to down a No. 13 with a well-placed missile, she was finding herself surrounded and attacked from all sides... and the No. 12 she was facing was getting too close for comfort!

"Ugh... is this it?" she asked herself, as she desperately tried to force her Core Gunner into an evasive maneuver...

All of a sudden, something big and ponderous came swooping down from above and delivered a crushing flying kick to the No. 12's elongated head, causing the monster to roar in agony and surprise before being flung backwards, raising a massive wave of water with its body! As Shizuru and Kouji jumped up in surprise and Mist evaded a lunging bite from his opponent... Godannar, the one responsible for stopping the No. 12's attack, executed a flawless pirouette in the air and landed heavily near Shizuru's Core Gunner, arms up and ready to face the massive Mimetic Beasts and their spawn!

"Goh! Man, we owe ya one!" Kouji said, right before being battered away by his No. 12's massive arm. "Gah! Damn, just when it was getting good..."

"Mr. Saruwatari?" Mist asked in disbelief. "I... I thought you were getting married at the moment... didn't expect you to come to our aid this quickly!"

"I didn't expect you to be out here fighting, kid, so I guess we're even!" Goh exclaimed. "Anyway, how are you doing? You still alright?"

Shizuru smirked as her Core Gunner picked itself up again. "Heh... who the Hell do you think we are?" she answered. "And I can see you came flying in just like I believed!"

"I'll try and do my best about it..." Goh answered... before being forced to a swift maneuver in order to avoid the No. 12s' massive arms bearing down on Godannar! The monster, evidently recognizing the massive blue robot as the greater threat, had decided to gang up on it, while the smaller No. 13s scattered to take care of the G-Gunner, the Core Gunner and the Levrias!

"Shizuru, be careful!" Kouji warned as he gunned down a No. 13, riddling its body with holes so that it couldn't regenerate. "The Core Gunner won't be able to resist a direct hit! Goh, man, we're taking care of these things... and then we're coming to help you!"

"Be careful, you two! Just try not to get killed, I'll manage by myself!" Goh warned, grabbing the first No. 12's arm in a vice-like geip, then executing a flawless judo-style flip and slamming the larger Mimetic Beast on its own brethren's body! Both monster fell into the waves, but were able to stand up soon, and as Kouji and Shizuru began trying to take down the smaller monsters, Goh was forced to place Godannar on the defensive and think carefully about his next move...

"If only I didn't have to deal with two of these things... and if I wasn't so rusty... then I might have a chance..." he thought to himself, but he steeled himself and got ready for the next clash...

Mist's Levrias soared up in the air and then swooped down, bringing his weapon down on a Mimetic Beast's head, almost slicing the monster in half... and while the opponent collapsed, Mist was quick to shoot a couple of rounds at its corpse, blowing it up so that it couldn't regenerate. The results were satisfying, and Mist breathed a small sigh of relief. "One down, a few more to go..." he murmured darkly as he prepared for the next opponent. A sudden shaking of the cockpit rattled him, and the red-haired young man bit back a curse as another No. 13 held tight to his Levrias and bit down on its shoulder, damaging its armor...

**oooooooooo**

"We have located the enemy! It's getting dangerously close to the coastline!" Eina exclaimed as she glanced worriedly at her onboard instruments. "The G-Gunner and the Core Gunner... and a unit I can't identify at the moment... are trying to hold the Mimetic Beasts back!"

"Alright, Eina, good job!" Touga said, as he and the rest of the Gran Knights flew in formation to reach their Dannar Base allies as soon as they could. "Everyone, keep your eyes peeled! We're facing an unknown enemy!"

"Roger that!" Mizuki answered. "Don't worry, we've already had quite a bit of experence with the Zeravire... we know that we need to expect everything!"

"There they are! I think I can see them now!" Luna exclaimed, pointing at a distant place near a rocky cliff, where it was clear that a battle was taking place near a group of half-submerged buildings.

"I'm checking the data now..." Leele said softly, just to shake her head one moment later as she found nothing on the enemy they were about to face. "No data available on this new enemy. I'm afraid we really will be fighting blind."

"Those are the Mimetic Beasts alright..." Touga pointed out. "Godannar, the G-Gunner, the Core Gunner and an unindentified unit are engaging them as we speak... Everyone, we need to form Gravion right now! The Gran Divas by themselves will be no match for those things."

"Alright, everyone!" Eij exclaimed. "Sandman, you just have to give us the word!"

**oooooooooo**

As if he had heard the impulsive redheaded pilot's call, Klein Sandman held his cane up in the air with one hand, striking a dramatic pose - while still maintaining his cool, unflappable demeanor - and pronouncing his catch phrase!

"Soldiers of the Gran Knights! COMBINE!"

**oooooooooo**

"ELGO FORM!" Touga exclaimed as the Gran Divas began moving almost on their own volition, forming a dazzling pattern in the skies above the site of the battle. Even the dull-witted Mimetic Beasts seemed to be wary of the unexpected event, and they quickly raised their heads to see what was going on... and after a brief, yet spectacular series of enlaces and aerial maneuvers, a new robot took form: a majestic blue and white robot with red highlights, a red orb-shaped jewel embedded in its chest, and a shining golden headpiece framing its face, its face the same impassive yet stoic expression of bravery that reigned on Godannar's face. Violet-black energy crackled almost ominously around the mighty robot as it finished its transformation sequence... and finally it struck a fighting pose while Touga, at the helm of the massive weapon, exclaimed its name. "GRAVION!"

The nearest Mimetic Beast roared, as if Gravion's appearence had somehow infuriated it, and it quickly stepped backwards twice in order to get away from what it perceived as a real danger, while Gravion landed in the water with a loud splash and got ready for the fight!

"Alright, so these are the bastards that crashed the wedding, huh?" Eiji snarled. "Okay, let's not waste time, then! We'll kick their asses right here and now!"

"You'll get no argument from me!" Luna exclaimed. "Touga, I'm ready whenever you want!"

"It's coming towards us! One of the enemy units has disengaged Godannar and is now heading towards us at top speed!" Eina exclaimed in worry. One of the No. 12s, in fact, had left Godannar behind, leaving Goh and his robot for its brethren to finish off, and was now advancing menacingly towards the gravity-based robot, waving its disproportionated arm around like a club!

"Oh, it seems like this thing wants a piece of us, huh? Well, we'll give it just that! **Graviton Missiles, **FIRE!" Eiji exclaimed. A volley of gravity-powered missiles erupted from Gravion's right leg and swarmed the No. 12, most of them slamming helplessly on the forcefield surrounding the monstrous creature's body. However, some of them actually managed to slip through some openings and hammered the monstrous beast's massive body, causing it to flinch and stagger backwards with a roar of pain. One of the nearest No. 13s tried to intervene, but Shizurus Core Gunner grabbed the smaller monster by the head and violently flung it against the wall of a nearby building, almost splitting its head open!

"Nice catch, pal!" Mizuki commented, winking at Shizuru. "And now... let's see how this guy handles this! **Graviton Viper!**"

A crackling whip (some would say, the perfect weapon for someone like Mizuki...) materialized with a buzzing sound in Gravion's hand, and the mighty gravity-based robot swung the weapon around and coiled it around the monster's right leg, trying to trip it. The No. 12 roared and writhed in anger, desperately trying to drag Gravion down as well, but the Gran Knights held tightly to the consoles and pulled inwards, resisting the hideous beasts' struggle!

"Ugh... go down, will ya?" Eiji exclaimed.

"We need to give the enemy another blow for it to go down..." Leele commented. "Luna, I guess it's up to you now!"

"Nice to know, I was getting restless here!" the young pilot answered with a small grin as she gripped her controls as if her life depended on it - which was technically true. Rapidly, Touga pressed a few buttons on his console, and Gravion pointed its glowing fist towards the No. 12...

"All systems ready!" the blue-haired young boy exclaimed. "**Graviton Pressure...**"

"...**PUUUUNCH!**" Luna yelled at the top of her lungs, as the Gravion's fist detached from the main body and flew at ludicrous speed towards the Mimetic Beast! The monster screeched horribly as the flying fist clashed upon its barrier, with Luna gritting her teeth and pushing with all of her might in order to overcome the protection. For a few seconds, the contrast between the two opponents continued, neither of them getting the upper hand as golden sparkles blazed off the place where Luna was trying to force the Mimetic Beast's barrier. Finally, after the young girl gave it just a little more oomph, the barrier shattered and the Graviton Pressure Punch continued on its way, the No. 12 barely dodging in time to avoid fatal damage! The attack still hit its shoulder and went through it, causing a gruesome-looking wound that almost caused the Mimetic Beast to lose its club-like arm!

The monster let out a piercing roar of pain as the Graviton Pressure Punch flew up in the air and returned to Gravion, lodging itself back in place. The Mimetic Beast had definitely felt the blow, but it was only a matter of time before it recovered and attacked again, and the Gran Knights knew they had to pull out all the stops in order to win this fight...

"We can't let it get back on its feet!" Eiji affirmed. "Let's give the sucker another shot, guys!"

Touga nodded silently, and the Gravion dashed in to directly attack the still-recovering Mimetic Beast, pounding it with its bare hands and forcing the gigantic horror to retreat. A fist to its multi-eyed face, a kick to the gut and another crushing blow upside the head forced the Mimetic Beast on its knees, only to get attacked again and again by the mighty gravity-based robot.

"We got it! We're winning!" Ena said excitedly.

But she had spoken too soon. Just as Gravion was about to land another blow, the No. 12 charged forward unexpectedly and rammed the mighty robot with all of its strength, causing it to lose its balance and fall in the water, almost causing a tidal wave! Gritting his teeth in frustration, Touga tried to force Gravion to stand once again, but the Mimetic Beast leapt upon Gravion and tried to pin Touga, Eiji and the girls to the seabed.

"Arrrrgh! Damn you..." Eiji cursed, trying to disentangle Gravion from the monster's hold. The Mimetic Beast was unnaturally strong, much more than most of the Zeravire the Gran Knights had faced before, and the situation was about to get more dangerous.

"Touga! This Mimetic Beast is a lot stronger than it first appeared!" Eina exclaimed, vainly trying to push the hideous thing away from Gravion. Just a little farther away, the Levrias and the two Gunner units were trying to do their best to destroy the smaller, but incredibly persistent, No. 13s who were swarming them: a lucky hit from Kouji's Strong Buster blew one of the minor Mimetic Beasts to pieces, but two of its brethren jumped the G-Gunner on both sides and forced it down, scratching and biting at its armor. "What can we do? At this distance, there's little Gravion can do!"

"Never mind that!" Eiji exclaimed, struggling to push the No. 12 out of the way. "Everyone, do your best to shake this thing off!"

"Alright!" Luna exclaimed as she wildly shook the control, forcing more energy into her G-Driller module before delivering a crushing punch to the side of the Mimetic Beast's head. It immediately retreated in pain, almost but not quite relinquishing its hold on Gravion. "Heh... you're not that tough when push comes to shove, huh, you stupid monster! And there's more where that came from!"

As Gravion continued mercilessly pounding the Mimetic Beast, Godannar was trying to deal with its companion... and up until then, as it wasn't outnumbered any more, it was more than holding its own, catching the No.12 larger arm in a vice grip and tightening the hold until the limb literally shattered, turning into smithreens of sickening organic matter! The monster roared in pain and rage as it retreated the injured limb...

"WHAT? With... with one move?" one of the Dannar Base's bridge bunnies exclaimed in disbelief as the No. 12 feel into the ocean.

Commander Kagemaru and Kiriko were obviously quite unfazed. "You kids have never seen it before... but this is what Pilot Saruwatari can really do." the stern-looking commander said with a nod. "This is why he was our best pilot, back in the day. And I see that he hasn't lost his edge."

But the Mimetic Beast immediately lashed out at Godannar in an absolutely unexpected way: a long, clawed chain literally grew out of the stump its arm had been reduced to, while the bits of flesh fell in the water and immediately started growing into immature No. 13s! The unexpected weapon hit Godannar in the chest and electrocuted it, with enough strength to put a dent in its armor and send the mighty robot flying through the wall of a ruined skyscraper... and Goh screamed in pain and surprise as his robot hit the wall with a deafening thud, being immediately buried in a shower of dust and rubble!

"Goh!" Kouji exclaimed, before getting swarmed by a bunch of No. 13s. "Ugh... Let go of me once and for all, you little freaks!"

"Goh!" Shizuru exclaimed. Godannar slowly slid down the wall and crouched low, in an attempt to pick itself back up... but the No. 12 would have none of this and began charging him at top speed, its substitute claw snapping ominously as it approached its target...

"Damn... what was that? It... it seemed like that Mimetic Beast had already absorbed a Dannar Base robot... how can this be?" Goh asked himself.

Back in Dannar Base, Kiriko sighed in worry as she stared at the screen upon which the battle was being monitored. "So... it seems that the giant hasn't awoken yet..." she mused to herself. "If this keeps up..."

"Dr. Aoi! Something unexpected is happening!" one of the operators exclaimed, surprise and fear evident in her voice. The Dannar Base's chief scientist turned to the one who had spoken, and the news she received left even her flabbergasted! "The emergency program of the old Dannar Base has just switched to online! The Neo Okusaer is activating!"

"WHAT?" Kiriko exclaimed in disbelief. "What's the meaning of this?"

"We have no idea, Dr. Aoi... Huh? Hold on a second... no way, it seems that a civilian found his way into the abandoned premises!"

"How could this happen...?" wondered Kiriko. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this..."

**oooooooooo**

"Huh? Where am I? What kind of place is this?" Anna wondered aloud as she dismounted from Shinobu's moped and looked around. Her reckless run towards the danger zone had resulted in her reaching what looked like an abandoned hangar in the middle of the forest, in the proximities of a tall rocky cliff overlooking the sea. It was a dirty, dusty, spooky place, half-crumbled from disuse and filled with overgrown weeds and plants... and yet, Anna's attention was drawn to a particular object that remained forlorn, chained to a side wall: a tall fighting robot with a feminine look to it, clad in a pink battle armor that turned light blue on its shoulders and chest, its face expressing something that looked like serenity and determination at the same time. It was chained to the wall, and it was clear that it hadn't been used in a very long time...

Surprised and curious, Anna rushed to take a closer look. "Wh... What? What is this robot doing here...?" she started to ask herself, before a deafening crash shook the abandoned hangar, forcing the girl to hold on to the railing separating her from the pink robot in order not to fall. A wall cracked and collapsed in the turbulent waters below... and that was when Anna could finally see Godannar fighting, and trying desperately to keep the No. 12 at bay. The images of five years before flashed in front of her eyes, as she remembered how Godannar had saved her just when she had thought it was all over for her...

And with that also came the realization that her beloved Goh was out there, in that huge robot's cockpit, fighting to keep her and everyone else safe! From where she was standing, she could see a back as big and strong as it was back then...

But now, the Mimetic Beast was getting the upper hand... and even the G-Gunner, the Core Gunner and Gravion were finding themselves under pressure from the combined strength of both the smaller No. 13s and the remaining No. 12!

"Goh-chin!" Anna exclaimed in anxiety as the No. 12 repeatedly slammed Godannar against the building, demolishing more and more of the skyscraper while at the same time putting some huge dents in the blue robot's armor. In a desperate attempt to do something to help her beloved, Anna turned to the pink robot...

And that was when she made the decision that would forever change her life.

"I have to go!" she exclaimed as she ran towards the elevator to the Neo Okusaer's cockpit and began pressing buttons. "Hey, robot, do you hear me? I know I'm being reckless, but I have to go and help Goh-chin! I won't let him get killed! So, please, robot, lend me your strength just this once!"

She didn't really expect anyone to answer that plea... so, she was understandably surprised when her mother's voice, coming from a speaker right beside the buttons, did so. "Are you sure this is what you really want, Anna?"

"Huh? M-mom?" she stammered, her hand remaining suspended above the keypad.

"The robot you are about to board is called Neo Okusaer, and it was used in the war against the Mimetic Beasts, five years ago." Kiriko explained. "Should you decide to pilot it and join Goh in battle, you will run the risk of getting killed... and, among other things, I do not think Goh would react well to that. I hope for your sake that you are aware of this."

This caused Anna to pause for a second and consider what her mother was telling her. It was true - Goh had already been devastated from losing his partner Mira Ackermann at the end of the past war, and the idea that he might go through something like that again was unbearable for Anna... but she soon steeled her resolve, and nodded, conforming her will to fight.

"I... Yes, Mom, I will do it! I will fight alongside Goh-chin!" Anna said. "You just told me that, didn't you? Whether it's about family or peace, the most important part is the beginning! And I wouldn't have the right to call myself Goh-chin's wife if I wasn't ready to support and stand alongside him right from the beginning, right?"

On the other side of the conversation, Kiriko seemed to ponder about that for a while... then, she smiled in approval and nodded. "That's the answer I was waiting for, Anna!" she commented. "Then... I will allow you to pilot the Neo Okusaer! Its controls are very much like those training robots you use at school, so I don't think you should have problems! The basis are covered... but the rest will be up to you!"

"Okay, Mom! Thanks a lot... I will not let you down, you'll see!" Anna exclaimed as the elevator lifted her up to the hatch, before sliding into the cockpit still clad in her white wedding dress. She gave a quick look at the Neo Okusaer's controls, and nodded gently before activating the robot, which shook off its chain and stood up, its jade green eyes lighting up to show that it was ready to fight!

"We're all set! Let's go, Neo Okusaer!" Anna exclaimed.

**oooooooooo**

"Are you sure it's a good idea to let your daughter pilot that robot, Dr. Aoi?" Kagemaru asked, his eyes still fixed to the screen. "I don't mean to criticize your decision, but you must understand that it's unusual to let a beginner on the field like that."

"I know... and I will take full responsability for this!" Kiriko answered, a small, prideful smile playing on her ruby lips. "Alright, Anna... do your best!"

**oooooooooo**

"Roger!" Anna exclaimed, as a pair of silver wings spread behind the Neo Okusaer's back. "Neo Okusaer, taking off!"

The female robot walked to the opening in the rocks and took off, flying over the battlefield and towards the monsters who were swarming the Dannar Base defenders and their allies! Mist was the first one to take notice of the new blip appearing on the radar, and he turned in that direction after shooting a No. 13 straight in the chest, causing it to fall in the water.

"Look, everyone! A new robot is approaching... and luckily, it seems to be friendly!" he exclaimed as the pink female robot landed on top of a large skyscraper. The Neo Okusaer wasted no time making sure everyone knew it was on their side by pointing the palm of its hand towards a No. 13, and shooting a glowing energy sphere at it!

"**Gravity Bomber!**" Anna's high-pitched voice called the name of the attack, and the globular bolt impacted on the No. 13, destroying it in a spectacular display of sparks and lightning! The remaining Mimetic Beasts, sensing that things were getting difficult, tried to get some distance and maybe reorganize themselves... but just then, the Levrias brought its Stead Slash upon a No. 13's head, cleaving the monster neatly in half! The two parts twitched for a moment, before a burst of Stead Shoots from Mist's strange weapon blasted them apart beyond regeneration!

"Awesome! I don't know who the chick is, but she sure knows her stuff!" Kouji exclaimed. Inside Godannar's cockpit, on the other hand, Goh frowned, having a bad feeling about who was inside that pink robot...

"Goh-chin! You alright?" Anna sked, shocking her husband-to-be beyond all reasoning!

"Anna? Is that you inside that Okusaer?" the Dannar Base ace exclaimed. "What on Earth... what are you doing here? This is not the place for you!"

"Oh, don't give me that, you big idiot!" Anna fired back. "What sort of wife would I be if I just let you go in battle without doing what I can to help you?"

Before Goh could retort, Kiriko's face appeared on the Godannar's comm. screen, sternly calling both pilots back to attention. "The lovers' quarrel will have to wait, kids... for the moment, you should focus on defeating that Mimetic Beast in front of you!" she exclaimed. "Goh, you know what you have to do! You must combine with the Neo Okusaer... in order for the giant to awaken again!"

"The giant..." Shizuru murmured to herself, she and Kouji retreating under the Mimetic Beasts' onslaught...

**oooooooooo**

"Uuuuugh... let go of us, you stupid monster!" Luna shrieked, as she and her teammates were doing their best to shake off the No. 12 holding them down. But the Mimetic Beast was still able to hold on to the gravity-based robot, and it looked like the Gran Knights would soon tire out... "Touga, Eiji, it's not working! We have to try something else, if we want to beat this thing!"

"We can still make it, guys..." Eiji encouraged his team. "We've got a new ally, now, right? Let's not cut ourselves a poor showing just now, right? Come on, let's push this thing away!"

Getting a second wind, Gravion began pushing the No. 12 away, causing the hideous thing to roar in surprise and annoyance as it started pacing backwards...

**oooooooooo**

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**Author's Note: And there you have it! Both Anna and Mist make their combat debut, and the battle with the Numbers 12 and 13 gets more heated than ever! I know I modified some details, but I thought it made more sense this way! Therefore... don't miss the next episode, in which we will truly see te giant awakening... and we might come to know a little more about Mist!**

**See you soon, and hope you leave a few reviews! **


	4. Body And Heart Fusion

**Super Robot Wars G**

**Hello, everyone! Glad to see me again? I need to apologize to all of you for the ridiculous amount of time I spent to write this new chapter, but many things got in the way of its writing. Anyway, now that I'm back in full swing, I will make sure I will not lose myself in all my workings again! And among all the stories I am trying to continue, there's this... my second Super Robot Wars story, and a rewrite of the plot of SRW K. Again, in this chapter, Mist Rex, the ever-impopular main character of K, and the Godannar and Gravion crews will take a few more steps towards the gradual unveiling of the mystery that lies behind the recent happenings!**

**As we've seen, Goh's wife-to-be Anna has joined the fight, and she seems to be a natural (no pun intended...) at piloting. Let's see if her intervention will be able to turn the tide in the battle against the Mimetic Beasts! Okay, I think everyone who has seen the anime - or has at least a bit of genre-savviness - knows the answer to that, but they might all be interested in seeing how will our heroes get out of this mess! And that's just the first thing they will face... you'll see just how big a war they'll be fighting in as soon as the plot of K kicks in. And I've got many things planned for the Alternate Universe Gundam shows and for the ever-loved Zoids...**

**But now, let's just concentrate on the battle against the Mimetic Beasts and see how that will end, okay? Get ready for another chapter full of hot blood, determination and mecha fighting! See you at the end of the chapter, where some juicy foreshadowing is waiting for you!**

**And please, feel free to send me a review!**

**oooooooooo**

**Chapter 4 - Body and Heart Fusion**

"Get the Hell away from here!" Mist Rex yelled, swinging his bladed gun and separating a No. 13's head from its body. Before the Mimetic Beast's insane regenerative abilities could repair the damage, the red-haired young man aimed at the still-flying reptilian head and fired a beam that blew it up in a shower of repulsive gore, before getting to hack the body to pieces and destroy every single part with a well-aimed shot. Behind him, the heroes seemed to be getting a second wind against the other monsters; Gravion was finally managing to turn the tables on the No. 12 that had pinned it down, Touga, Eiji and the girls pushing with all of their might in order to throw the hideous beast off balance, while the intervention of the Neo Okusaer had caught the other No. 12 (not to mention Goh himself) completely by surprise; Mist's Levrias, Shizuru's Core Gunner and Kouji's G-Gunner were simply left to pick off any remaining stragglers.

Of course, getting the upper hand on the two monsters was not going to be an easy task, as the No. 12s were still fighting with the ferocity of cornered rats. One of the monsters raised its hammer-like arm and swung it towards the Neo Okusaer with all of its might, barely leaving Anna the time to see danger coming and activate the Neo Okusaer's defenses.

"**Angel Wall!**" the diminutive redhead yelled. The pink female robot raised an arm and pointed its open hand in front of itself, and a shimmering energy barrier appeared in front of the Neo Okusaer and intercepted the attack, causing the monster to roar in frustration and stand back. Then, the girl shot another Gravity Bomber at the thing, further damaging and annoying it... which allowed Goh to slip in and punch the horror right in its chest, dislodging some of the chitinous materil covering its body. Still, it was a temporary advantage at best. Soon, the Mimetic Beast's incredible healing factor would have nullified that. The only real way to defeat the No. 13 was to do as Dr. Aoi had suggested and merge Godannar and Neo Okusaer into a single, powerful robot... but Goh wasn't sure whether he could do that. Now, in front of his very eyes, the robot piloted by his old deceased companion was still up and about... and at the helm stood the woman he was trying to rebuild his life with! The implications of this were all too clear to him... and as a result, he was unable to work up the necessary concentration to, as Kiriko put it, awaken the giant.

"Goh! Do it now! We might not have another chance!" Anna's voice egged him on as the No. 12 fell to the ground, raising a huge tidal wave with its bulk. The Neo Okusaer stood close to Godannar, while Gravion was pulling itself out of the other No. 12's grasp. The gravity-based robot was slowly standing up, forcing the Mimetic Beast away from it.

"Hey, pal! Whatever you have to do, now would be a good time for it!" Eiji yelled at Goh, trying to shake him out of his funk. However, this seemed to have less of an effect than the impulsive redheaded boy would have liked - Goh was too afraid of going through the pain of losing a loved one again, after barely recovering from losing Mira.

However, Anna would have none of that.

"It's not just you, you big idiot!" Anna exclaimed, her voice gradually softening. "If we don't stop these monsters here and now, a lot more people will get involved in the fighting, and a lot more people will lose their loved ones! Didn't you start piloting Godannar because you wanted to stop all this?"

Goh felt a pang of guilt bite at his chest and grit his teeth. What Anna was saying was true, there was no denying it...

"Dammit, pal, just do it!" Eiji roared, Gravion's fists pounding the opposing Mimetic Beast with all of their might.

"GOH, YOU BIG STUPID BOZO!" Anna yelled at the top of her lungs...

A sequence of images of the past flashed through Goh's mind, reminding him of the battles he had sustained against the Mimetic Beasts... all the destruction he had gone through... everything he had lost...

And that was when he made his final decision.

"Never again... never again will I just hang back and let my weakness overwhelm me..." he muttered to himself, before exploding in a furious, defiant battle cry that resonated in Godannar's cockpit!

"NEVER AGAIN!"

The effects were instantaneous. The Godannar immediately began glowing, as glorious beams of golden light erupted from several places in its armor, growing into a sphere of all-consuming light that forced Kouji, Shizuru and Mist to avert their eyes, and caused the Mimetic Beasts to roar in apparent surprise and indignation, as if the otherworldly monster had understood that things were turning sour for it. The sphere of brightness expanded around Godannar and the Neo Okusaer, as a breath-taking transformation began taking place!

"Drive... Change... GOOOOOOO!" Goh roared. Godannar's cheat plate opened up, revealing a couple of spinning turbines hidden beneath the pectorals, and the mighty robot's automated systems were booted up, causing Godannar's inner structure to shift and relocate...

"Drive... Change... GOOOOO!" Anna echoed. The Neo Okusaer struck a pose in midair, after turning a spectacular somersault, and began being drawn towards Godannar. The two robots began spinning dizzily around each other, surrounded by a roaring column of light... and all of a sudden, the Neo Okusaer's limbs and head disappeared inside the body, and the pink robot lodged itself into Godannar's chest cavity. The turbines began working at a breath-taking pace, and blinding light effect danced upon the two robots' armors, while Anna's cockpit was suddently being lifted up, and the surprised girl found herself taken awayy from her seat and gently laid in Goh's cockpit, just a little below her beloved husband-to-be... who, in turn, grit his teeth in determination and activated the final part of the transformation.

"GODANNAR... TWIN DRIVE!" he exclaimed. Godannar's body was further transformed, becoming stronger, bulkier and more agile... and finally disappeared momentarily in a blinding flash, before emerging a completely different machine! Its shoulders were now larger, with black shoulder pads, and its head was now crowned by a multitude of golden spurs that gave it a regal, fierce appearence, complete with a green gem-like object on its forehead and a threatening facial mask. Its limbs were now longer and more durable, and, above all, its armor had completely changed, going from a deep cobalt blue to a fiery red that seemed to shine on its own accord! With an agility that was uncharacteristical for its immense size, Godannar executed a flawless twisting jump... and landed in front of the No. 12 that seemed about to overpower its lesser form, fists raised and ready to continue the fight!

"Did you see that?" Eina exclaimed from her cockpit, in awe of Godannar' transformation.

Luna gulped. "Er... kinda hard to miss that, I think..."

"Alright! Way to go, everyone!" Eiji cheered with a slight grin. "Now, while Goh and Anna kick that monster's ass... we proceed to do the same to this other guy!"

"Gran Knights, pull with all of your might!" Touga advised. "We are in the right position... right... NOW!"

Eiji, Touga, Luna, Eina, Mizuki and Leele all gave the opposing No. 12 one last push and, with a roar of defiance, the nighty beast was finally forced off the gravity-based robot and pushed against the side of an emerging building, shattering the glass and sending debris flying in all directions. Touga allowed himself a small smile seeing that the tables had turned once again on the Mimetic Beast, and gave all of his companions order to stand ready, as Godannar stepped forward to face the remaining No. 12 on its own.

"G... Goh-chin, this is amazing... ah!" a flabbergasted Anna exclaimed as some kind of cloche popped up from between her legs, startling her. Not knowing what to do, the redheaded girl grabbed the cloche in her own hands and looked up at Goh, who nodded and gave her instructions.

"Okay, Anna... I'll explain things later, but for now, just do as I tell you to!" Goh told her. "Hold that cloche tight... and as soon as I tell you to, pull the trigger! Can you do it?"

"No problem, Goh-chin! Just give me the word... and I'll do it!" Anna answered.

Goh took a look at the onboard instruments, noticing that Godannar didn't have much power left... they were putting their all into this one attack, and hoping it was going to work. "Alright then... let's do it! Anna, LET'S GO! BREAKER SHOOT!" he exclaimed, frantically grabbing the controls.

"Alright!" the girl answered. The word ENGAGE appeared in bold, bright letters upon the control screens, and Godannar took a huge leap in the air, a trail of fire bursting from its head like a long mane of fiery red hair, and descended upon the No. 12 with a crushing flying kick, which the gigantic Mimetic Beast vainly tried to block. Godannar simply plowed through the monster's guard and smashed its chest in with a mighty kick that caused the Mimetic Beast to roar in agony and stagger backwards, demolishing even more buildings and causing countless debris to fall in the water below. Then, Godannar reared back... and, in a burst of speed, raced towards the stunned Mimetic Beast, its right fist enveloped in red flames. The No. 12 roared in defiance and tried to swing its arms again to deflect the attack, but there was nothing it could do to save itself.

"HEEEEEART... BREAKEEEEEEEEER!"

Goh roared the name of Godannar's next attack at the top of his lungs, as the mighty robot got close to the No. 12 and punched forward, hitting the horror with such strength that Godannar's fist simply punched a hole straight through its chest!

"NOW, ANNA! PULL THE TRIGGER!"

"Yep!"

Anna did as her future husband told her and squeezed the trigger with both her hands... and the guns hidden inside of Godannar's punching hand went off, discharging an explosive bullet inside the Mimetic Beast's body! The monster roared again, this time in a mixture of rage and despair, and its body started turning pale and brittle, like a crumbling old statue, as Godannar extracted its fist from the opponent's body.

"Goodbye, my comrades..." Goh said out loud, reminiscing of all those who had lost their lives in the previous battles against the Mimetic Beasts. "For the city you've fought to defend, for all the people you've sworn to save, I won't let down any of you! I'll destroy this thing!"

Another burst of flame came out of Godannar's head, as the combined robot moved its hands in front of itself like a martial artist about to deal a knockout blow... and soon after, before the already injured Mimetic Beast could react, jump up in the air, almost disappearing into the blue sky above... and descended wth another more powerful kick that struck the No. 12 in its most vulnerable spot, where Godannar's fist had already left its mark. The monster let out an horrible screech as its body was demolished by the sheer force of the kick, and Godannar plowed through the Mimetic Beast's rapidly disintegrating form and landed on one knee in the shallow water, bursts of steam coming out of its body as the cooling system did its job.

Anna and Goh regained their breath for a moment and then turned to the place where the No. 12 they were fighting had been standing just a few seconds before. In its place, now, there was just a pile of decaying organic matter that the waters were quickly dispersing and mixing with what was left of the No. 13s that Kouji, Shizuru and Mist were taking out in quick order. Anna placed one hand on her chest, in order o calm down her frantically beating heart, and finally looked up to Goh, regarding him with large chestnut eyes shining with hope. "Goh-chin... we... we did it, right?" she asked. "That monster is... dead... isn't it?"

After taking a couple more breaths, Goh looked down at his diminutive lover, cleared his throat and managed a kind smile. "We did it, Anna... all thanks to you! I couldn't have done it without your help! But we don't have much time to celebrate... we still have another No. 12 to take down, and we're almost running on empty."

"Oh, don't mention it!" Anna said, winking astutely. "And about the Gravion boys... I think they're handling themselves pretty well down there! Take a look!"

In fact, now that Gravion was back on its feet, the battle had turned against the remaining No. 12, who was trying to hit the gravity-based robot with its mighty arms to no avail. Gravion quickly dodged and countered with a volley of powerful punches and a side kick that staggered the monster. It tried to use its chain-arm to entangle Gravion and pull it down, but the Gran Knights were quick to react, and Gravion grabbed the chain with both hands and pulled the Mimetic Beast close, where it was greeted with a powerful punch that almost shattered its hideous maw!

"Alright, we got this one!" Luna exclaimed happily. "We just need to deal it a finishing blow!"

Touga, never missing a beat, had Gravion back in guarding position in asecond. "Leele, how are the scannings? Have you determined a weak point in the Mimetic Beast's body?" he asked, and the shy lilac-haired girl quickly pressed a few buttons on her console, and visualized a crude reproduction of the No. 12 on her screen, with an intermittant dot of light on its chest.

"Affirmative. I have pinpointed the enemy's vital point in its chest area. We need to damage that point if we are to destroy this monster." she stated.

"Alright, then... we know what to do, right, guys?" Eiji exclaimed. Touga nodded, while Gravion threw itself at the staggered Mimetic Beast. The gem-like formation on its forehead glowed for a short while... and a powerful wave of pur gravitational energy burst from it, catching the Mimetic Beast off guard! "**Graviton Arc!**"

The beam of gravitational energy struck the Mimetic Beast in its head, severely damaging it and blinding it for a split second... which was all the Gran Knights needed! Gravion stopped for a moment, and the shining orb in its chest began glowing as a shining greatsword emerged from its, Gravion's hands quickly closing on its hilt and lifting it up in the air!

"And now, the deciding blow!" Touga exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"AYE!" All the Gran Knights answered in unison, just a split second before Gravion dashed once again towards the enemy, holding its sword with both hands. The White Steel Fang, the mighty weapon that came from the Moon, with which the Gravion team had defeated an incredibly powerful Zeravire only a few weeks before, flashed towards the enemy, while the Mimetic Beast, instinctively understanding that it was in danger, tried in vain to fend off the attack...

"That won't save you, monster!" Eiji exclaimed as he saw the Mimetic Beast retreat. Gravion finally reached its opponent and raised the White Steel Fang above its head, holding it with both hands, before bringing it down with all of its might, the blade surrounded in crackling white energy, on the hideous beast's body!

"_**Chojuu Zan!**_"

The Gran Knights, their voices mingling into a single one, gave the command... and Gravion delivered a vicious slash, the White Steel Fang penetrating into the Mimetic Beast's body like a red-hot knife through butter, and cleaving the weak point in the monster's body! A fountain of dense, disgusting ichor burst out of the fatal wound, splashing Gravion as it slashed through the monster and landed on one knee, the mighty weapon still tightly clutched in its hands. For a few seconds, the Mimetic Beast stood there, unmoving, almost as if it was shocked that Gravion had managed to mortally wound it... then, the No. 12 let out a final roar and collapsed on itself, desintegrating into a disgusting mass of organic matter and jumbled metal parts from the robots it had absorbed! A mighty explosion, a split second later, signalled the end of the second No. 12 and yet another victory for Gravion. Luna cheered in victory and raised her fist in the air, while Eina breathed out a sigh of relief, and Leele smiled to herself.

"Well, that's that." Mizuki calmly said, looking with satisfaction at what remained of the Mimetic Beast.

"Alright! We did it, team!" Eiji exclaimed enthusiastically. "That's what that piece of crap gets for blowing the wedding! And now... let's take care of the little ones!"

"Actually, Eiji, that won't be necessary." Touga corrected, pointing to the G-Gunner, Core Gunner and Levrias, who were picking off the remaining No. 13s. "Our allies are already doing that for us, it appears."

"I have to say, they're doing their job well." Mizuki had to comment.

Mist's Levrias was dashing from one side to the other, cutting down the No. 13s as soon as they tried to sneak attack Gravion, Godannar or another one of the robots. Despite lacking practice, the red-haired young man seemed to have lost none of his touch as he downed one opponent after the other with surprising ease. A No. 13 tried to attack him from behind, jumping upon his Levrias and trying to drag it down with some sort of wrestling move... but the young man grit his teeth and furiously shook the monster off his robot.

"Ugh... get off of me, you monster!" Mist growled. His Levrias took to the air and quickly dived down... and the No. 13 was unable to hold on and was thrown to the ground with a vicious grunt. It picked itself up in a moment, and tried to attack again, but Mist was faster than it was and quickly dashed in, connecting with a series of fast, powerful slashes from his bladed gun. As he No. 13 staggered backwards, stinking ichor oozing from its wounds, the Levrias dashed around it with blinding speed, disappearing to the naked eye and reappearing on the monster's back. Its gun was already aimed at the No. 13's head, and the familiar sound of charging could be heard, before Mist pulled the trigger, and a concentrared beam of yellow energy burst out of the gun's barrel, disintegrating the top half of the lesser Mimetic Beast into nothingness. Mist sighed in relief and turned his attention to Kouji's G-Gunner, who was finishing off another No. 13

"**Strong Buster!**" The G-Gunner's powerful main gun fired again, engulfing the smaller monster in a huge explosion and utterly consuming it. Kouji grinned and clenched his fist in front of himself, but his joy was short-lived as another No. 13 grabbed his G-Gunner from behind and began chomping on its armor.

"Aaaaargh!" Kouji yelled. "Let go of me, you stupid piece of..."

Before he could en his sentence with another profanity, Kouji felt something grab tightly onto the offending Mimetic Beast and forcefully yanking it away: Shizuru's Core Gunner had finished off another No. 13, and had now intervened just in time to spare Kouji a burning humiliation.

"Heh... just like you to pull a rescue at the last moment, huh, sis?" Kouji commented, grinning at his fighting comrade, who just smiled and shook her head.

"Really, Kouji... what does one have to do with you?" Shizuru asked jokingly, before holding the Mimetic Beast tightly in the Core Gunner's deadly embrace. The monster roared and thrashed, opening a couple of gashes in the female robot's armor, but its efforts were ultimately futile as Shizuru dragged it away from the G-Gunner. As soon as she was at a safe distance, the girl stopped and activated the Core Gunner's chest-mounted machine guns, pointing them at the No. 13's back... and let loose with a point-blank barrage that the monster had no way to defend itself against! It roared one last time as the machine guns tore its body apart, causing it to almost explode! Finally, Shizuru threw what remained of the monster in the water and shot the pieces apart, making sure there was no regenerating from that. Soon, all that remained of the last Mimetic Beast was a dense, disgusting paste which slid away into the water. The battle was over.

"Looks like that was the last one..." Mist murmured to himself, wiping his forehead with one hand in order to wipe the sweat away. "We did it... one way or another!"

"Hey, what's with the tone, pal? C'mon, you oughta be a little more enthusiastic about winning!" Kouji chided him good-naturedly, his G-Gunner nudging the Levrias with its elbow. Mist was lightly shaken from his seat, and chuckled nervously in response, but privately, he could not share his companion's carefree attitude. Coming from a peaceful planet, Mist never liked fighting, and he had trouble understanding why anyone might do. If there was one thing he didn't like about the Earth, this was it: there were too many wars going on...

On the other hand, Shizuru had stepped out of her cockpit, looking with pride at Godannar, that was now standing proudly in the light of the sun, the tides crashing majestically on its legs. It seemed that Goh was starting to regain his previous fire and determination.

Inside Godannar's cockpit, Anna was takking a series of deep breaths in order to calm down after the adrenaline rush she had experienced. So... that was a real battle? Those were the feelings Goh and his friends experienced every time they stepped into the battlefield? It was a scary experience indeed... but the fact that she was able to help her beloved husband-to-be regain his fighting spirit and defeat this dreadful opponent more than made up for the fear she had experienced! After calming down, Anna looked up at Goh, who slowly looked back at her... and after a few moments, managed to smile at her and congratulate her over her intervention.

"Well, Anna, let me say that..." he murmured. "That was a foolish... but extremely brave thing to do! Great job!"

The red-haired girl giggled, feeling her heart swell with pride. "Thank... thank you very much, Goh-chin! I'm glad I was able to help!" she said... before showing an ear-to-ear grin which left Goh flabbergasted! "So... I've decided to join up with you guys of the Dannar base and become this Neo Okusaer's official pilot! If another one of those monsters shows up, we wanna be well-prepared to fight back, don't we?"

Goh's calm expression quickly left space to a comical wince. "Wh-WHAT?" he exclaimed in surprise. "You... becoming the official pilot of the Neo Okusaer? A-Anna... you do realize that this isn't your decision to make, don't you? And... you know that you're pretty much asking to be put on the frontlines, right?"

"Yep, I know all that!" she said, keeping an all-too-cheerful smile on her face! "Don't worry, Goh-chin, as you've seen, I'm not some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued! And... let it never be said that being the daughter of Dannar's base chief scientist doesn't have its perks!"

Caught off guard by his lover's reasoning, Goh blinked a couple times... then sighed in defeat. "Oh, man... what have I gotten myself into?"

The Gran Knights, on the other hand...

"Told ya that those two were quite the lovebirds, didn't I?" the busty Mizuki said in a flirtatious manner, looking at her comm. screens and giving a wink to Eiji, who simply sighed in resignation.

"Man, now I'll have to endure another round of gushing... give me a break!" the red-haired young man sighed in defeat... which of course caused the bubbly Luna to grin mischievously.

"You're saying that because you still have no one you could possibly score with, my dear Eiji Shigure!" the youngest member of the Gran Knights snarked playfully. "Oh, but don't worry... even a knucklehead like you will eventually understand the concept of 'love'!"

Eiji grunted and rubbed his head with his free hand. "Yeah, yeah... whatever you say, Luna..."

Leele, on the other hand, was preoccupied with something else. "Mr. Touga, should we collect a sample of the Mimetic Beast's tissues and send it to Dannar Base for further analysis? I have a hunch that the ones we faced today won't be the last." she said, and the blue-haired boy nodded seriously.

"That would be a good idea, Leele... and we need to send a sample to Mr. Sandman as well." he answered, his deep blue eyes staring in the distance and to the clear blue sky. "I have the uneasy feeling that something very bad is about to happen..."

**oooooooooo**

In the Dannar Base's main room, Kiriko Aoi had been watching the battle with great interest, and was now smiling pridefully as she listened to the good-natured squabble her daughter and her best pilot were having. It seemed that Anna had taken the advice to heart... she would really make a great pilot for the Neo Okusaer!

"Well, that was quite impressive." she murmured to herself. "Guess it takes quite a lot to awaken sleeping giants... but in the end, it was worth it!"

However, her celebrating mood took a dive when an operator called her to report something strange. "Dr. Aoi, Miss..." he called out to her. "I think you might want to see this. Something strange is happening to the remains of one of the Mimetic Beasts No. 12... the robot it had absorbed earlier is showing some signs of life in its interior!"

That definitely caught the red-haired scientist attention. "Say what?" Kiriko answered, failing to completely mask her bewilderment. "There is actually another living being inside that robot? How is that possible? Shouldn't the lack of oxygen have caused death by asphyxiation in short order?"

"We're not sure, Dr. Aoi..." a female operator answered. "But the fact remains, that there is a peron alive inside that machine! Should we get you a visual?"

"By all means, please do." Kiriko answered as she whippe out her cellphone. On its screen, the images of the vanquished Mimetic Beast were already being displayed: the monster had been turned into a chaotic mishmash of decaying organic matter and scrap metal, and the hatch of the robot that it had absorbed earlier was well visible as soon as the camera zoomed in. However, what really left Kiriko speechless happened a few seconds before...

With a low hiss, the hatch of the robot snapped open, and a human figure fell out of it: it was covered with a semi-transparent green slime, but it was clear that it was a young woman approaching her mid-twenties, with long and luscious blond hair, who almost seemed to float briefly through the air, before falling gently on an emerging rock, the slime cushioning the fall enough so that she wouldn't get hurt.

The normally calm and collected Kiriko was so shocked that she couldn't even speak for a few seconds. How could that be...? She was sure she had been lost forever... and there she was, right under her eyes! And she couldn't have picked a worse moment to reveal that she was still alive...

However, the beautiful scientist was quick to regain her wits. "I... understand. Operator, send a medical team to the battlefield as soon as Godannar and the other have cleared. We need to see clearly into the matter." she ordered, to which the operators were quick to nod and carry out the order.

"What's the matter, Dr. Aoi?" Kagemaru asked. "You seem to have been rather shocked by what you saw..."

Kiriko sighed. "Shocked is the operative word here, commander Kagemaru. We still need time to confirm my suspicion, but if my eyes haven't deceived me... we're in for some rather troublesome times."

"_Especially Goh and Anna..._" she added in her own mind. "_Just when I thought everything was said and done... destiny sure has some weird cards to play._"

**oooooooooo**

"_SO, HOW DID IT GO?_"

"_Everything as planned, my lord and master. The Earth robots are proving themselves to be more capable than we thought. We might be met with more resistance than we expected._"

"_HMPH. JUST LIKE HUMANS TO FUTILELY STRUGGLE AGAINST THEIR OWN FATE AND CLING TO THEIR PUNY LITTLE LIVES. THAT THEY ARE SO DEAD SET ON OPPOSING THEIR DESTRUCTION, WHEN THEY ARE THE MOST UNBALANCING ELEMENT IN CREATION, IS TRULY UNACCEPTABLE._"

"_We know that well, my lord and master... that is why we are currently trying to correct this mistake of creation. It shouldn't be long until their planet is overwhelmed... they are currently embroiled in so many of their petty struggles that they won't be able to fight back against a full-scale assault._"

"_PATIENCE HAS ITS OWN REWARDS, MY FAITHFUL. WE NEED NOT BE HASTY. AFTER ALL, THE EDAX ARE STILL IN FULL FORCE... AND UNLESS WE CAN DRAW THEM COMPLETELY OUT OF THEIR HIDING, OUR PLANS WILL BE ALL FOR NAUGHT ANYWAY._"

"_I understand... we still need the human race alive for our project to be realized. Very well, we shall wait. For the moment, we will be content with weakening their defences and testing their prowess._"

"_THAT WE WILL, MY FAITHFUL. MY COUNTERPART SHALL SOON SEE HOW USELESS HIS STRUGGLE IS._"

**oooooooooo**

The confusion of the battle had finally died out, and all pilots had been able to land their robots, disassembling them in the case of Gravion and Godannar, and finally get their feet on the hard, solid ground, where they were greeted with enthusiastic congratulations and cheers from anyone who had been watching that incredible battle. While Kouji was rather enjoying all the recognition, Anna was finding herself more than a little embarassed at the attention everyone was showering upon her, while Goh tried to play it off as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary.

"Please... please, everyone, that was nothing!" Goh tried to amicably fend off the onslaught of people who were congratulating him and his friends. Even the Gran Knights were surrounded by cheering admirators, much to the displeasure of the shy Leele. As for Mist... he was trying to slip away unnoticed, in order to wait for the right moment to get back on his Levrias and get back to Dannar Base. Unfortunately for him, people were starting to gather around the hapless redhead as well, wanting to ask him all kind of things about his robot, where he came from, what his robot's special powers were... In short, Mist was experiencing first-hand how popularity can sometimes be a very annoying thing!

"Ugh... er... can you wait a moment, please?" Mist tried to assuage the crowd. Another thing he could not understand about Earthlings... why did they idolize fighters so much? On his home planet, a warrior was only one of the citizens, and he wasn't any more important or worthy of praise than any other citizen. Another reason why he much preferred his home planet's society over that of Earth...

Finally, the red-haired young man managed to get away from all the ruckus and slip inside a small passage, where he tried to hide for a while. The day had been already full of enough surprises for him, and he wasn't going to ask for more. Still, the fact that he had chosen to return to the battlefield after all that time did not really bode well with him. He was hoping that, at least, he'd be allowed to live a life without fighting, even though Earth might be a less-than-idyllic society... but if the choice was between that and making sure his new friends weren't harmed, he'd take the latter without hesitation.

"Commander Elric... Angelica... Shieldia... I'm afraid I wasn't able to stop fighting like I promised myself to." he murmured to himself. "I'm afraid today's happenings are nothing but the start of a new storm... Please, help me... should I take part in this, or should I step aside and let the Earthlings sort out the whole mess? I reallt have no idea what to do..."

**oooooooooo**

As the Gran Knights celebrated the victory along with Kouji and therest of the Dannar Base pilots, the crowd around them suddenly began to disperse, while never stopping their chatting... which was now aimed at another obvious target calmly making his way to the Gravion pilots - Klein Sandman, still impeccably smart and collected, politely asked his way through the gathered people and walked to his knights, stopping in front of them as they all tood upright, and regarding them with approval.

"Once again, my knights, you have proven yourselves worthy defenders of this planet." the violet-haired multi-millionaire stated proudly. "It is my regret that you were forced into battle when all we were expecting of this day was a joyful celebration, but you did your job with great skill and bravery nonetheless."

"We are grateful for your praises, Mr. Sandman." Touga answered, a small smile dancing on his lips as he received the praise of the person who was the most like a father to him. "Although we cannot exactly claim all the glory to ourselves. The Dannar base personnel did much of the work."

"Still, what you did was quite impressive." Sandman stated. "As for the Mimetic Beasts... I take it that someone already arranged for a sample of their structure to be collected and analyzed, right?"

"That's exactly the case, Mr. Sandman." Eina said, adjusting her thick looking-glasses. "Parts of Mimetic Beast tissue will be sent to both Dannar Base's laboratories and to our own HQ, which will hopefully be useful in determining the Mimetic Beasts' weak points and find a more efficient countermeasure against them."

"That is satisfying." Sandman said, before looking at the Levrias, who stood abandoned on the side of what used to be the battlefield. "And... what about the pilot of that red robot? Do you happen to know him, by chance?"

None of the Gran Knights had an answer to that. "Hmm... sadly, Mr. Sandman, we don't know much about him." Eiji finally answered after thinking for a few moments. "Other than the fact that his name is Mist Rex, and he appeared to be a mechanic at Dannar Base..."

"We had no idea the guy was a pilot as well..." Mizuki stated. "And we definitely didn't know he had that robot stashed away somewhere in Dannar Base. He's a pretty good pilot as well... I counted at least three or four of those smaller Mimetic Beasts that he downed all by himself."

"I see..." Sandman murmured. "Well, that will do, my knights. Let us gather back at the church. While the wedding is sadly to be postponed, there are quite a few things that need our immediate attention, and it would be better to discuss them along with our Dannar Base allies."

As the Gran Knights slowly nodded and made their way towards the Gran Divas, Sandman looked at the abandoned Levrias again. The technology with which the red machine had been built struck him as rather peculiar. In fact, he was sure he had never seen something like that on Earth, ever. This could prove interesting... apparently, this Mist Rex person wasn't exactly who he claimed to be...

**oooooooooo**

While everyone seemed to be busy celebrating the victory over the Mimetic Beasts, somewhere in the oceans of Japan, another storm was brewing... and the massive yet majestic form of a dragon-like battleship was silently navigating under the waves, its crew set on accomplishing a very important mission than could potentially change many things...

"Captain Garis, Captain Neate... We have successfully crossed over to Earth. What are your instructions?"

"We'll remain in wait for the moment. The Darius forces we have been pursuing seem to be nowhere to be found, at the moment, but we never know when they will strike. The Gundam team, led by Loran and Garrod, will do some reconnaisance later. Van, you and Zeke make sure the Zoid squad is ready to intervene, just in case... and the same goes for Irvine, Leena and Brad."

"Aww, but do we have to stay here and miss out on all the fun? That's just no fair!"

"Easy, easy, Leena! We can't have you go all trigger happy when our mission requires subtlety and stealth, can we?"

"Yeah, whatever you say, Puria..."

"Anyway... this is the situation, and given what the Darius army is trying to do, we cannot afford a mistake here. Rosa, what are the latest intel on the enemy's movement?"

"We have located several Darius Beasts approaching the country that this world calls Japan. No Moonrace or Space Revolutionary Army activity detected, as for now."

"That's good. Still, let's be ready for everything. This is a potentially very dangerous gambit we're playing..."

**oooooooooo**

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Author's Note: So, was the stinger at the end of the chapter interesting? I sure hope so... and as for what will happen now that the crews of Gaiking, Turn A Gundam, Gundam X and Zoids are about to make their debut, I can only say that everything will be clearer in the next episode! Until then... hope you've had fun with this, and please review!**

**Thank you, and see you soon!**


	5. Dire News

**SUPER ROBOT WARS G**

**Well, looks like I managed to update again! Real life is getting busier and busier for me, since I'm in my last year of high school... but hey, at least I can always find some time to write for you guys! And again, we get to enter into the world of epicness, heroics and adventures that is Super Robot Wars! Last chapter, we left Goh, Anna, Mist and the Gran Knights just as they finished off the Mimetic Beasts that sadly crashed Anna's wedding... it seems, however, that those monsters were just a small part of a much bigger plot that is threatening to swallow the whole planet Earth, and maybe not just that... but we still know nothing of what is really going on, and the Dannar Base personnel knows even less than we do, I'm afraid...**

**Anyway, it seems that the Earth heroes will get some unexpected help soon... as well as meet some people that have long been missing from a Super Robot Wars game! This will probably be a simple filler chapter, but I will give some foreshadowing about the future of this story... and I'm sure a lot of Super Robot Wars enthusiasts like me will be glad to see someone make an appearence, even if it's just a cameo for now!**

**Anyway, let's not waste any more time: I need to thank all those who read this story and left a review to it, and I hope you will enjoy therest as well! Believe me, our bold heroes are going to have a field day before it's all over!**

**Let's start with the new chapter! Happy reading... and feel free to leave a review! I always appreciate constructive criticism!**

**oooooooooo**

**Chapter 5 - Dire News**

Dr. Kiriko Aoi wasn't exactly in a happy mood.

Which probably wasn't surprising, considering what a close shave the latest battle with the Mimetic Beasts had been... it was lucky the Gran Knights had come to their aid when they did, and that Goh and Anna hadmanaged to combine their robots in order to form the powered-up Godannar... otherwise, things might have gotten a lot grimmer.

Still, the Mimetic Beasts weren't exactly what she had in mind at that moment. Yes, she was taking their reappearence seriously, and was trying to come up with some new ideas to repel them, but at that moment, her mind was carefully scanning the data in front of her, coming from the Dannar Base's chemical labs. There was no mistake, even though those results seemed impossible... but it only meant that more questions without answers were piling up, and that was the last thing they needed.

She was shaken out of her musings when the door to her office opened with a dull sound, and the red-haired scientist lifted her head and motioned for the aid to come... but the chestnut-haired girl politely declined, and simply told Kiriko what the matter was from the door frame. "Excuse me, Dr. Aoi... but it seems someone wants to talk to you and Commander Kagemaru about an important matter. Your presence is required in the command room, unless you have more pressing matters to attend to, of course..."

Kiriko shrugged as she stood up from her desk, leaving the data lying in disarray in front of her computer. "Not really... I'm trying to make sense of these results, but I'm afraid I have too little data to make a sensible hypotesis right now." she answered. "I could use a break from this... so, what's the problem?"

As Kiriko adjusted her glasses, the Dannar Base aide sighed in sympathy. She was not going to like this... "Actually, Dr. Aoi... it's another call from Lord Djibril, speaking on behalf of the Atlantic Federation and their allies, the Titans. They... seemed to have kept a close eye on Godannar and Neo Okusaer's last fight, and they're renewing their invitation to join them in their planned strike against the PLANT..." she said.

Kiriko let out a disappointed sigh and shook her head. "Not this thing again..." she muttered to herself. If there was one way to make her feel more bitter than she already was, that was it. "Okay, I'll be there in a moment! If only so that I can get through that thick head of his that we will not cooperate with Blue Cosmos, LOGOS or anything like that... Just wait for me, okay? Make up something to keep that fool quiet while I get there..."

"Yes, sir..." the aide answered, before bowing and returning to the control room, leaving Kiriko to her musings...

**oooooooooo**

"I thought we were already clear on the matter, Lord Djibril." Commander Kagemaru spoke in a calm, yet steely tone to the man facing him on one of the Dannar Base's main screens. "Dannar Base is independent from the Atlantic Federation, and is not under orders from Blue Cosmos. We have no reason why we should accept your terms."

That brought out an arrogant chuckle from the man onscreen, who was glaring at the Dannar Base personnel, Kouji and Shizuru among them, and the Gran Knights as if they were little more than bugs. Lord Djibril was a man in his early thirties with short, slightly curly silver hair, cold green eyes, and lips that seemed to be tinted with purple lipstick, perpetually curled upwards in a sadistic smile. He was wearing a strange yellow dress with purple highlights on the shoulders and near the waist, and he was holding a glass filled with fine wine in one hand, slowly moving it from side to side and causing the red liquid to sway slightly. Kagemaru's words seemed not to register with him, as he shrugged them off with seeming nonchalance.

"On the contrary, Commander Kagemaru, you have all the resons in this world why you should accept our generous offer." he stated, before tipping his glass to his lips and taking a sip of wine. "You see... until now, we agreed to let you stay out of the Atlantic Federation's war against Coordinators for the simple reason that we were not aware you had such powerful robots on your side. However, Godannar and Gravion's performance in the latest fight had us rethink our position. If we were able to count on their support for the war against Coordinators, the true enemies of mankind, victory would be within our grasp... and there would be a fair reward for you as well. Do you really need any more reason for joining us?"

Kagemaru frowned at the current Blue Cosmos leader, who was still sporting that arrogant, cocksure smile. However, before he could answer, the doors in the back of the control room opened up, letting Dr. Kiriko Aoi through, and the red-haired scientist adjusted her glasses once again as she approached the large screen, under Lord Djibril's scrutinizing gaze. "So, what's with all the commotion?" she asked calmly, taking a cigarette and placing it between her ruby lips. "My, my... looks like we got ourselves an honored guest from Blue Cosmos. So, Lord Djibril... what brings you here?"

It was Eiji Shigure, standing in front of the screen in a challenging way, to answer Kiriko's question. "If you really have to ask, Dr. Aoi... we were all minding our own business and talking about those Mimetic Beasts things... when this jackass thought it would be a bright idea to come here and ramble about how we need to just hand him our robots to fight his stupid war!" the red-haired Gravion pilots hotly answered, pointing at Lord Djibril in a spiteful way. It was widely known that he Gran Knights had dealt with Blue Cosmos (and the Atlantic Federation's elite armed forces, the Titans) repeatedly before, and it was never a joyous affair.

"Yeah, this after we have already told him many times that we weren't interested in joining his little anti-Coordinator crusade..." Luna muttered, glaring daggers at the Blue Cosmos leader who, for his part, simply smirked at the teenage girl, as if telling her to watch who she was picking a fight with.

"I see you still haven't gotten it... can't you understand that Coordinators will be the bane of humanity as we know it?" the corrupt politician said with a falsely pleasant smile. "Their genetic manipulations and their attempt to play God will sully humanity's genetic heritage, and bring us all to destruction. Only in a pure a blue world, a world without the corrupting influence of the Coordinators, can we live in peace. And surely peace is what you all desire, isn't it?"

"Yeah, sure..." Eiji muttered darkly. "Like you really care about peace or anything other than making money..."

Sandman gently but firmly motioned for Eiji to stay silent and let Kiriko and Kagemaru, as main representatives of Dannar Base, answer to Lord Djibril's claims, and the red-haired young man sighed and nodded in understanding, stepping aside in order to listen to the contention.

"Lord Djibril... I am sure we already spoke about that." Kiriko said calmly, even though Djibril's eyes wandering all over her body made her feel quite disgusted. "Dannar Base has nothing to do with the war between Atlantic Federation and ZAFT, and we will not, in any measure, lend our aid to a campaign of genocide. We have heard many reports of LOGOS' behind-the-scenes activities, and speaking from a moral point of view, we utterly disapprove of them. Furthermore, we believe it's counterproductive to fight our fellow humans while we're under attack from several enemies like the Mimetic Beasts or the Shadow Angels. We should join forces against the common enemy, instead of wasting resources in pointless infighting."

"I am glad we agree on this point, Dr. Aoi..." Djibril smirked devilishly. "Indeed, it is pointless to fight among ourselves when there is a greater menace looming on our future... that is, the Coordinators. This is exactly why I'm asking you to join the Atlantic Federation in our fight against those space monsters who are trying their damndest to destroy our lifestyle! It seems you just can't understand that there can be no peace between us and them..."

"That is obvious, when you are the ones who fired the first shot." Kiriko calmly retorted. "In any event, our answer remains the same. We will not assist Blue Cosmos, LOGOS, the Titans or their allies in acts of indiscriminate genocide, and the above mentioned parties have no claim on the use of Godannar or any unit belonging to Dannar Base. I am sure Mr. Sandman here would like to speak on behalf of the Gran Knights as well. Mr. Sandman, if you please..."

Sandman thanked the red-haired scientist with a gracious nod. "I shall be brief and to the point, Dr. Aoi. As for Gravion and my own affiliates, the Gran Knights, we are opposed to your anti-Coordinator policies, as well as believe that Gravion's strength would be put at better use by opposing the Zeravire and the other enemies threatening humanity as a whole. Therefore, Lord Djibril, we reiterate that we will not aid and abet Blue Cosmos or the Atlantic Federation government in anti-Coordinator actions. That will be all."

Djibril's faux-jovial expression faltered, and both Sandman and Kiriko could see a shadow of rage marring his features... but the Blue Cosmos leader, who had taken over after the previous leader Muruta Azrael had died in the second battle of Jachin Due, quickly seemed to regain his calm, if only to smile viciously at the two. "Then so be it... do not say I didn't warn you, though. If you're not with us, you're against us... and we of Blue Cosmos know how to deal with our enemies. Rest assured that, for siding with the worst enemies of mankind, the Coordinators, you and your allies shall be treated accordingly. There is nowhere on Earth where you can hide from us, remember that."

"Blah, blah, blah..." Eiji muttered snarkily to himself as Djibril's image filled with static and he disappeared from their sights.

"The... the NERVE of that jerk!" Luna fumed as soon as the conversation was over. "I can't believe he still has the gall to act as if we owe something to him! Gravion is Mr. Sandman's property, and that idiot can't just come and boss him around!"

Mizuki sighed, apparently familiar with that kind of behaviour from Blue Cosmos or the Atlantic Federation in general. "You know how these bigwigs are, Luna... they just do whatever the Hell they feel like, even when they have no reason to do so." the buxom blonde replied. "Trust me, I have experience with them."

Leele seemed to be rather worried by the whole deal, though. "Still, we shouldn't underestimate Blue Cosmos or the Titans... they've made good on their threats more than once, and if the Bunch 30 incident is any indication, the results might be... very bad, to use an understatement."

"Bunch 30? What's that?" Mist asked, despite not having shown much interest in the conversation up until then. "I mean, I know that the Titans are this sort of elite military organization under the control of the Atlantic Federation, and that they aren't exactly popular, but... what happened then?"

Kagemaru closed his eyes before answering. "That's something none with a shred of decency in the Atlantic Federation is proud of... The details are top secret, but we can tell you what transpired: two years ago, a huge anti-Titans and anti-Atlantic Federation riot broke out the 30th colony in Side 1's territory. It started out harmless enough, with civilian disobedience and vocal protests, but it soon escalated, leading to violence and property damage. After repeated attempts by the Atlantic Federation forces to calm down the rebellion, the Titans were dispatched to put an end to it. Which they did... by pumping nerve gas into the colony, slaughtering the entire population."

Kiriko nodded as she registered Mist's shocked expression. "This action was so extreme that dissent was rising even within the Atlantic Federation's own ranks... but sadly, no actions were taken against the Titans." she explained. "On the other hand, this act caused several anti-Titans movements to form as dissident citizens and soldiers, both in space and on Earth, founded the AEUG and the Karaba respectively. As these movements grew in popularity and power, they began posing a serious threat to the Titans' forces - which was obviously helped by the fact that ZAFT is quietly backing them up -, and the Atlantic Federation government gave the Titans control of nearly all of their military. Needless to say, this only exarcebated the confict..."

"Yeah, I can understand that..." Mist said. Indeed, he had other things to say, but he thought it would be better to keep quiet for now. "That was not a very smart move, I guess. It only led to rising hostilities."

"Quite so." Eina noted wistfully. "The real problem is that, if only these factions would acknowledge that their fighting is pointless when we have much greater problems to think about, the Earth Sphere wouldn't be in such a state."

Shizuru shrugged. "Well, you have a point, Eina... but you can't exactly bury the hatchet once you've unearthed it." she stated. "It is true, though, that humans fighting amongst themselves is only making things easier for a lot of humanity's worst enemies, the Mimetic Beasts among which. It is lucky Godannar and your Gravion are beyond the Atlantic Federation's jurisdiction."

"Speaking of Godannar..." Kouji spoke up. "Where have Goh and Anna gone? I have hardly seen them ever since we went back to Dannar Base..."

Touga looked at the door from which Kimiko had come. "Mr. Saruwatari and Ms. Aoi should be in the simulation room." the blue-haired young man answered. "Ms. Aoi asked to be taken to the training rooms right away, so she could familiarize better with her new job as the Neo Okusaer's pilot, I think."

"I see..." Mist mused, but it was unclear whether he was pleased with the idea or just annoyed. "Well... if it isn't too much trouble, could we take a look at the training area? I'd... like to see how she's preparing herself for the battles that are sure to come..."

Kagemaru rubbed his chin in thought. "Well... I don't see why not." he finally answered. "Dr. Aoi, would you be so kind as to show Mist to the training zone? I think he'll find it to be a rather interesting sight."

"Of course, commander Kagemaru." Kiriko answered with a gracious nod. "Mr. Rex, if you would kindly follow me... and of course, if they wish, our allies are welcome to come as well."

Mist smiled slightly and nodded as a sign of thanks. "Thank you very much, Dr. Aoi. It's just a curiosity of mine, but still... I appreciate that!"

**oooooooooo**

For her part, Anna Aoi was really glad to see the place where she would be working from then on... and as Goh showed her around, explaining how the various training machines and simulators worked with some visible reluctance, she felt happy to be able to help out the man she loved, though some of those contraptions seemed a little scary to her...

"Oh, so this is where you all practice to pilot those robots? This is... just awesome! I never knew you and my Mom worked in such a great place!" Anna said excitedly as she looked at the simulators. "And this is an actual combat simulator, huh? Beats the living daylights out of those big hunks of metal we use at school for mock battles!"

"I'm sure it does..." Goh said, rather unenthusiastically. After all, no man would really like the idea of getting the woman he loves in danger, especially when his job caused the death of another one of his beloved. And yet, Anna had been really adamant about that... and considering Goh had been just as stubborn when it was time to ask for Anna's hand in marriage, he really couldn't say anything against that...

"Anyway, Anna... I hope you do know what you're getting into!" he stated, placing one hand over the simulator machine. "We're fighting against monsters who have brought Japan on the brink of collapse only a few years ago... not to mention, they're not alone this time! We of the Dannar Base might be called upon to fight against other enemies, enemies we know nothing about and that could easily overpower us... are you still convinced that you should get involved in this? I'm definitely not blaming you if you wanted to walk away from this!"

"Oh, come on, Goh-chin! How many times will I have to freaking tell you?" Anna huffed, her pretty face distorting slightly in a cute frown. "I chose to get involved the moment I got away from the church and decided to help you out any way that I could! So, don't come tell me that I should just stay home and be a good wife just because I'm a girl! I'll have you know, I'm sure I will be able to master those robot in no time!"

Goh sighed and rubbed his head. He should have seen that one coming, after all... when she put her mind to it, Anna could get to be the most stubborn girl in the world! "Guess not much I can tell you will make you change your mind... if anything at all!" he stated. "In that case... we'll begin training tomorrow, as soon as everything is ready. Be warned though - we are not going to go easy on you just because you're the daughter of this base's scientific advisor. Same treatment as all other pilots, not better nor worse."

Anna smiled and nodded. "Well, that's just the way I want it!" she exclaimed as she gave a thumbs-up to her future husband, bfore turning to the doors of the simulation room being opened by Kiriko, who was guiding Mist, Eiji, Touga and the Gran Knights girls through the premises. "Oh, hi, Mom! Goh-chin here was showing me all these cool trinkets they use for training their pilots! Pretty nice stuff!"

"I'm glad you're so enthustiastic about it, Anna... because you're going to be working on them a lot, starting from tomorrow." she stated with a calm smile. "Anyway... as you can plainly see, this is the simulation room. All these machines can simulate various machines, including Godannar itself, by emulating their speed and handling, and can be set to several levels of difficulty according to the sort of skill we need to shape our pilots up to. In Goh and Anna's cases, just to give you a term of comparison, we've had to crank the simulator up to S-Rank, which is the absolute maximum."

"It does not strike me as surprising, considering what kind of enemy you've been up against." Touga commented, elegantly standing near the Dannar Base's "guide" and glancing attentively at the machines. "We've had to deal with tough enemies before, and those No. 12 Mimetic Beasts we faced surely weren't the toughest ones we fought. However, they're very different from the Zeravire."

"Well, I think I agree with Touga, for once." Eiji commented. "I've never seen anything quite like those monsters - Zeravires usually don't have such amazing rigenerative powers. Can't blame you for wanting to be prepared."

Mist nodded, but his mind was elsewhere at the moment. "I understand as well... yet, I cannot help but ask myself if all these simulation machines are really necessary..." he said, in a somewhat mysterious way.

Kiriko blinked, never losing her stoic countenance. "Your point being, pilot Mist?"

"What I mean is... nah, nothing important. Guess I should just drop the subject." Mist answered with an half-smile. Though what he had seen that day was only adding to his opinion that Earthlings were foolishly stoking the fires of war, something that his disappeared home planet would have never seen a reason to do. "Anyway... if we're going to face those Mimetic Beasts again, I suppose I should get some training as well. It's been a... rather long time since I last piloted my Levrias, excluding my earlier stunt with those Mimetic Beasts, and I could see I've gotten a bit rusty with my piloting skills. Can you help me with that?"

"Of course we can, Mr. Rex. After all, we need all the help we can get in this situation, and we sure aren't going to turn down an offer from you." Kiriko said. "Our simulators can't exactly do a perfect reproduction of your Levrias' piloting system, as that machine is still kinda mysterious for us as well... but we can get pretty close as far as the simulator is concerned."

"Thank you, Mrs. Aoi... I appreciate your help!" Mist answered. As loathe as he was to aid in a war effort, he was willing to do that if this would mean he could protect the people who extended kindness to him while he was lost and hopeless...

**oooooooooo**

While things were being rather hectic in Dannar Base, this was nothing compared with the destruction that was raging in other parts of the world... and on a scorched battlefield in the heart of Central Europe, a numerous group of Atlantic Federation and Titans Mobile Suits was busy tearing the landscape to pieces, as they mercilessly purued a retreating group of understaffed and underpowered resistance fighters. Spurred by the initiative and courage of a charismatic leader, a group of Eurasian combatants had risen up to stand against the Atlantic Federation's oppressive policies... but unfortunately, feelings are not enough to win a battle, and the small group was being overwhelmed by the superior enemy.

Deep inside a bunker in the mountains, the leader of the Resistance and his most faithful men, the few ones who had stood by his side despite things looking grim, were studying a few maps thrown on the table in front of them in disarray. There was not much they could do about it... if not simply try to hold out for as long as possible, but even that seemed far too tall an order. The Atlantic Federation and the Titans were, simply put, crushingly superior to their own little gang of misfits.

"So... what chances do we have to withstand another attack from the Atlantic Federation?" the man sitting at the head of the table, in the dusty, darkened conference room asked, though the tone in which he was speakking meant he already knew it was not going to be an answer he'd like.

The man sitting at his immediate left shook his head mournfully. "Practically nothing... and if Phantom Pain takes to the field, make that nothing at all." he answered. "We've lost far too many soldiers, while inflicting negligible losses to our enemy. Our communications with Karaba have been cut, and we are not receiving fuel, food and medicines any more. Even if we were to withstand the next onslaught, we'd be still doomed. At this point, there isn't a thing anyone can do for us."

"I see..." the commander places an hand on his forehead and sighed in defeat. "It's all my fault... I should have known better than to try and take the fight to them. I was sure that, if we'd gotten them by surprise, we would have been able to inflict more damage... and maybe chase those bastards out of our territory. I underestimated their strength... what an unforgivable mistake!"

"We're all in the same boat, commander... blaming ourselves for our loss won't help." a tough-looking woman sitting at the commander's right spoke. "For now, what we need to concentrate on is to try and save as many of our soldiers as possible... so that at least, someone else may carry on the fight on our behalf."

"I know..." the commander said, some fire returning in his tired grey eyes. "I just wish there was something more we could do... it's time like these that I wish what I heard about Dancougar was true..."

That name caused some of the closest officers to look at their commander in puzzlement. "Dancougar?" a younger sergeant asked. "What's that? I never heard of it..."

The leader cleared his throat. "It's all a rumour, after all... but according to it, there's this mighty robot, Dancougar Nova, that sometimes appears on the battlefields all over the world and begins attacking the winning side of the conflict, preventing them from completely destroying the losing one." he said. "Its strength is legendary, and no opponent as of now has been able to match its prowess in battle. However, as soon as the balance of power between the two forces is back, Dancougar Nova goes away, refusing to finish off the opponent it was fighting against. Its motives are shrouded in mystery, and nobody is really sure what to make of it. They just whisper its name, and hope to high heaven they will never find themselves facing it on the battlefield."

"I see..." the woman answered, before letting out a short, embittered chuckle. "Well, with the situation we have now, I really wouldn't mind if Dancougar Nova came and helped us. At least we'd be able to buy some time and reorganize ourselves... not to mention, we'd be able to get in contact with Karaba HQ and ask for some reinforcements and supplies."

"I don't think you're the only one..." the commander sighed.

**oooooooooo**

Only a few kilometers away from the rebels' HQ, a formation of Atlantic Federation and Titans Mobile Suits was advancing unerringly towards their target, shrugging off whatever the disorganized, poorly-armed resistance could throw at them. Rocket lanchers proved ineffective against the thick armor of the new Windam Mobile Suits. Bombs and booby traps were ignored without a second glance by the Titans' Marasai models, and the bodies of slain resistance fighters and the burnt carcasses of destroyed vehicles littered the scorched earth for as far as the eye could see. Standing in front of the invading force, three Gundam-like Mobile Suits were leading the assault, each one of them seemingly eager to put an end to the resistance's futile struggle.

"Hahahahaaa! This is too much fun!" laughed the pilot of a bulky Gundam-like robot that looked strangely similar to the Buster Gundam that had been piloted by ZAFT redcoat Dearka Elsmann during the previous Bloody Valentine War: standing about 18 meters tall, it sported heavy dark green armor on its chest and shoulders, with a couple of shoulder-mounted cannons that made it look somewhat unwieldy, and some sort of helmet covering its head, making it look even more formidable. It was carrying a bayonet-armed beam rifle in each hand, and was alternating between them to shoot at whatever looked like a resistance member.

"Look at how they run away in fear! Did they actually believe they could stand up to us with what little weaponry they had?" the Buster-lookalike's pilot exclaimed: Lt. Junior Grade Shams Couza was a rather tall young man of color wearing a pair of large glasses, that now seemed to be enjoying prancing his way through the depleted resistance forces. "Heh, such fools... they couldn't do a scratch to this Verde Buster!"

"Well, I wouldn't expect much else from these rats." a female voice answered, coming from the cockpit of the second of the Gundam-like robots. This one resembled the Duel Gundam, and was smaller than the Verde Buster, but still didn't look any less threatening, with its shoulder-mounted Assault Shroud Armor and its dark grey, almost black, chassis. "They could only hold out with old and surpassed Mobile suits, while the bigwigs were kind enough to provide us with these babies! We *are* three of the most skilled pilots ever to work for Phantom Pain, after all..."

On Shams' comm. screen, the female pilot of the Blu Duel winked to her companion: Ensign Mudie Holcroft, a young woman who looked about in her late teens, with shoulder-long dark brown hair and eyes flashing an exotic shade of purple, her lips tinted with purple lipstick and wearing an ornate pair earrings, was the youngest member of the trio of pilots working for Phantom Pain, LOGOS' special forces unit... but that didn't make her any less brutal or dangerous than her comrades, especially with the mighty Mobile Suit she was piloting!

Shams smiled back at her, before their flirting was interrupted by another young voice, this time belonging to the pilot of the third unit, a Strike Gundam knockoff with dark, dull grey colors, sporting a flight module on its back, and a beam rifle held in its hands. "I would advise you not to get distracted and concentrate on the mission." the pilot, a white-haired young man with a serene, almost emotionless demeanor, told his two comrades. "Remember, our orders are to terminate to resistance cell with extreme prejudice. We have other problems to take care of, and we cannot let these dissenters waste too much of our time."

"Feh... you're a killjoy, Sven, ya know that?" Shams said jokingly, his Verde Buster slightly turning to the black Strike lookalike. "I see that even getting to pilot the Strike Noir didn't do much for your seriousness, huh?"

Sven Cal Banyan, the pilot of the Strike Noir, did not answer to that. "The base of the rebels is only a few kilometers away. After we are done with destroying it, this mission will be over." he stated simply. "Keep your eyes open. For now, it has been easy, but things could go sour in a moment."

"Alright, alright..." Shams finally answered. "Geez, one can't even make a joke with that guy on the team, huh?"

"Still, Sven has a point. No use prolonging the mission when we can take out the rebel leaders and be done with it." Mudie agreed with the white-haired leader. "Hey, I'm not thrilled myself that we're working with a humorless prick, but orders are orders, and he's right about that."

Shams srrugged. "Meh, whatever you say, Mudie. For my part, I'd like to put an end to this... huh? Hey, guys, do you see anything strange on your radars?"

In the cockpit of the Strike Noir, Sven frowned slightly, which was still a marked change from his normally passive and stoic expression. "Hm? Strange, my radar doesn't show anything... wait, it seems I spoke too soon. We have an unidentified object coming towards us, and right in front of us to boot. Mudie, can you see it?"

The Phantom Pain girl was just as surprised as her companions. "Yeah, and I don't like this one bit. Its signature does not match anything in the Blu Duel's database. Do you have it on yours, guys?" she said, as the unidentified object came closer and closer at amazing speed...

"Negative." Sven answered, and even Shams shook his head. "We're dealing with an unknown. Get in position and be ready to shoot it down in case it's hostile."

"Of course!" Shams and Mudie answered quickly, getting in position beside the Strike Noir and pointing their beam rifles towards the darkened skies, as the unknown object approached... and was finally visible to all three of them and to the combined Atlantic Federation / Titans army!

And as soon as he laid eyes upon it, even the seemingly emotionless Sven seemed to slightly widen his eyes in wonder and alarm: the clouds seemed to part as a huge humanoid robot descended from the skies, the scarce rays of the sun glistening on its armor to enhance the woder of its sight: it was gigantic, easily one and a half times as tall as the Verde Buster, and its torso, shoulders and limbs were covered in jet black armor, with golden wing-like spurs on its chest, and matching knees. Golden arm-guard protected the front part of its arms, and its head, whose face had an almost human expression of defiance permanently engraved upon it, was protected by an heavy-looking helmet, with a pair of golden antennae on both sides and bright eyes lighting up in determination. It was a truly impressive sight, and many of the combined Atlantic Federation / Titans army, no matter that the battle was going their way for now, began backing down.

"Wh... What the Hell is that?" Shams exclaimed. "No, wait... I wanna have a shot at this: is that the legendary robot that appears in the various battlefields to always help out the losers? Dancougar Nova?"

"You mean that Dancougar Nova has actually deigned itself to interfere with us of the Phantom Pain unit?" Mudie said, frowning noticeably. "Tch... Sven was right when he said that things could get worse any moment..."

Sven was the one who called for calm within the ranks, as Dancougar Nova landed in front of the combined army with a dull thud, its verniers cushioning the fall as it stood on guard. "Soldiers, please don't lose your head." he called out, communicating with the rest of the Atlantic Federation / Titans squad. "We have met an unexpected obstacle during our mission, but we can still overcome it. Spread out, and keep Dancougar Nova under fire while keeping a safe distance from it. That should do the job."

While the soldiers were still in awe of the newcomer, they quickly followed the orders and began shooting at the enemy with their beam rifles and machine guns... but Dancougar Nova did not even try to dodge, standing where it was and absorbing all hits until the onslaught ceased. Sven called for all solders to stand back and keep their weapons ready just in case...

And a flash of black and red burst out of the cloud of dust and debris, charging head-on at the enemy army, and catching everyone off guard! A powerful punch struck the Verde Buster in the chest, lifting the heavy Mobile Suit off its feet and sending it airborne among the lesser Federation Mobile Suits, causing confusion in the ranks. A particularly brave Hi-Zack pilot threw a grenade at Dancougar Nova, hoping to catch it off-guard, but the mighty black robot quickly brought its arms up in a parrying gesture and managed to avoid the worst of the explosion, which only caused negligible damage to the robot's outer armor. In a flash, Dancougar Nova turned to the hapless Hi-Zack and shot a short burst of missiles that struck both the attacker and a group of Mobile Suits near it, destroying or severely damaging all of them!

"Damn... what kind of monster is this?" Mudie swore, before pointing her Assault Shroud at Dancougar Nova and shooting a controlled burst of laser beams. "Well, sorry, pal, but you're in the big leagues now! If you think you've got it easy, I'll be glad to prove you wrong!"

This time, the black robot was actually forced to step backwards a little, as one of the beams struck it in the right leg, causing some damage. Mudie allowed herself a small smile, which quickly faded as Dancougar Nova closed the distance and punched her Blu Duel straight in the chest! The young woman grunted in pain as she was thrown around in her cockpit, and the Duel-lookalike landed none too elegantly on the burned earth, near the carcass of a destroyed tank. A group of Windams took flight and tried to shoot Dancougar Nova... but once again, the mysterious robot was quick to react.

The hilt of an oversized sword detached from its waist and twirled for a short while before Dancougar Nova caught it in its left hand, and a shining blade of glistening steel materialized from seemingly nowhere, creating a razor-sharp broadsword right in Dancougar's hands. Shrugging off the Windam's attacks, Dancougar sped towards them and swung his sword at the first line, slicing three of the flying Mobile Suits to pieces. They exploded soon after, but Dancougar Nova soon found itself engaged in a fierce close quarters by the Strike Noir, who had produced a couple of beam sabers and was now attacking, one sword in each hand. Dancougar Nova brought its own sword up just in time to fend off the Phantom Pain commanding officer, who descended upon the black robot in a dazzling dance of laser blades. Unlike his friends, Sven seemed not to be the type to waste time in villainous boasts - he was going for the jugular right off the bat!

A well-aimed slash hit Dancougar Nova in the side, causing a shower of sparks to erupt from its damaged armor. Another one hit the larger robot's right arm, disabling a few minor functions. Luckily, the Dancougar Nova pilot - or pilots, Phantom Pain had no way of knowing - seemed skilled enough to avoid more serious damage. But this edge was not going to last long...

So focused was Dancougar Nova in parrying Sven's attacks, that it failed to see Shams' attack coming until it was too late. The Verde Buster pilot, having recovered from his earlier mistake, had joined his beam rifles together, creating a new weapon... and had fired a lethally precise shot against Dancougar Nova, hitting it in the chest and causing it to lose altitude an almost plummet to the ground. "Hah! Though I was a joke? That'll teach you not to underestimate me!" the glasses-wearing pilot boasted as Dancougar was forced to the ground. Mudie tried to take advantage of that moment, and shot a burst of energy from her Assault Shroud Armor, forcing Dancougar Nova to further retreat. The mysterious robot appeared to be in trouble, which motivated some of the bolder Titans pilots to get closer and try to finish it off...

That is, until Dancougar Nova's eyes flashed dangerously, and it stood up again, its fists retreating into its arms and being substituted by huge cannons!

"Take cover!" Sven advised, never losing a beat. Shams and Mudie, not to mention most of the rank-and-file, were quick to do so... but some soldiers still tried to attack Dancougar Nova head-on, in an imprudent attempt to destroy it before it could attack.

Two more cannons emerged from the black colossus' shoulders, followed by two on its chest, one over its head and two more on its legs... and after Dancougar Nova firmly planted itself on the ground through a pair of stabilizers coming out of the back of its knees, it charged up for a moment and unleashed a phenomenal storm of red and green beams of energy from all of its cannons together, lighting up the battlefield in an aweome display of power! The Atlantic Federation and Titans forces were caught completely off guard and could only gape, eyes wide, as the destructive beams struck their more imprudent companions head on, desintegrating their Mobile suit like they were made of tissue paper! Explosions littered the battlefield, and even Sven, Shams and Mudie were forced to retreat as several beams came too close for comfort, slightly damaging their units! In a few seconds, an all-encompassing light swallowed the Mobile Suits that still hadn't taken cover, and it all vanished for a few seconds that seemed never to pass...

Finally, when Sven was sure it was safe to come out again, he took a look at the effect of the terrifying attack: almost half of the Atlantic Federation's attacking force had been vaporized by the blast, the broken remains scattered all around and oozing thick black smoke. Dancougar Nova was standing in the midst of the destruction, its armor signed in some places, but mostly undamaged, like some kind of avenging angel that had come to pass judgement on the Titans...

"I... I can't believe it!" Shams exclaimed. "Dammit, what's with that thing? Our troops are powerless against it!"

Sven knew what had to be done. "In that case, let's cut our losses. Retreat, immediately. We'll report this to High Command." he ordered. Somewhat reluctantly, his companions followed suit, along with the rest of the combined Atlantic Federation / Titans army, occasionally throwing a glance at Dancougar Nova to make sure it wasn't following. The mighty robot seemed content to just let the survivors escape, standing in front of their former objective as if to warn them against attempting to attack once again.

A few seconds later, the battlefield was clear. All that remained was Dancougar Nova standing tall upon it, surrounded by the remains of the fallen soldiers from both sides.

"Dammit... this was just what we didn't need!" Mudie swore. "How are we going to explain this to the bigwigs? They aren't going to be happy about this..."

"I'm just gateful we're still alive for now..." Shams muttered darkly. "Still... shit, I never saw this one coming. So all the rumours about Dancougar Nova's power weren't exaggerated! Now I see why everyone fears and respects that thing!"

Sven, despite the utter defeat, seemed more calm about it. "We weren't prepared to face it this time." he stated. "For now, we'll just have to retreat and report. Next time we come across Dancougar, we'll make sure we have the means to take it on. Nothing is invincible, remember that."

"Meh. For some reason, I have trouble believing it..." was a bitter Mudie's answer.

**oooooooooo**

Back in the resistance forces' conference room, the officers had been staring in wide-eyed wonder at the miracle that had just saved them all, stopping the Atlantic Federation / Titans forces, and turning the tide of the battle. They couldn't believe it... Dancougar Nova had really come in their darkest moment to save them all, but just as the rumors said, it had then refused to pursue the retreating enemy. As if it was more concerned about keeping the balance than saving them...

As several of his own underlings around him hugged each other and celebrated, the leader of the resistance cell sighed in relief and slumped back in his seat, wiping his brow with an handkerchief. "So... it's really true... Dancougar Nova does exist..." he murmured shakily. "But... while I'm glad that he came to save us all from utter defeat, I cannot help but be worried at this turn of events. Dancougar's power... is beyond anything I've seen before! Maybe no one should be allowed to have that much power..."

With fearful eyes, the resistance leader looked up at the mighty robot, still standing in place among the ruined battlefield... and kept watching as it took flight and sped off into the distance, an aura of mystery remaining behind it...

**oooooooooo**

"And that ends our report, commander Taiga." Kagemaru ended his narration, standing in front of a large screen, upon which it was possible to see a rather large and strong-looking man sitting at a desk, his hands clasped in front of himself, as if deep in thought. Dark blond hair framed a dark-skinned, somewhat angular face with large sideburns on either side of the head, highlighted by the black suit he was wearing, and by his shining green eyes filled with fire. Kotarou Taiga, commander of the Gutsy Geoid Guard, another independent organization for peacekeeping and prevention of disasters, had been intently listening to Kagemaru's tale, especially about the unreasonable requests of the Blue Cosmos leaders...

"I understand... that's quite a pinch you've gotten in, commander Kagemaru." he answered seriously. "I never thought Blue Cosmos would go as far, though I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, considering how things are, the Gutsy Geoid Guard will be more than happy to lend their assistance. Although, there is still a piece of information you probably don't know about."

Kagemaru frowned. "And... what would that be, commander Taiga?"

Kotarou cleared his throat. "We have just received word that an Atlantic Federation offensive against a resistance group affiliated with Karaba has been stopped... it seems Dancougar Nova has arrived."

Kagemaru frowned noticeably. This news was quite worrying indeed...

**oooooooooo**

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Author's Notes: Another chapter done, with Dancougar Nova making its debut, and characters from Gundam Seed Destiny, Gundam Seed Stargazer and GaoGaiGar making their first appearence! Don't worry, Aoi and the other Nova pilots will follow suit very soon, as more and more dangers pile up, and a team-up becomes more necessary than ever! For now, I guess this will do... and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll be seeing you soon, provided my very busy life doesn't get in the way of my writing too much!**

**See you soon! **


	6. Dancougar Nova

**SUPER ROBOT WARS G**

**Welcome back! It was about time I remembered to work on this, wasn't it? I know, I know... other stories kinda took precedence, and I didn't have much time to work on this, but it's okay now! I'm sure I can churn out another chapter other than this one before the end of the year!**

**So, where were we, exactly? Yeah, right... after a few tense moments with the LOGOS higher-ups in Dannar Base (mosty Lord Djibril trying to bully the Dannar Base crew into joining him), another important player seems to have entered the scene: Dancougar Nova, a mysterious Super Robot that just saved a resistance group from being wiped out by Phantom Pain, LOGOS' elite military force. We have caught a glimpse of Sven Cal Banyan and his comrades (I'm not gonna say friends, considering the guy is one of the most scarily apathetic human beings in the Cosmic Era) as well as their machines. And while they didn't manage to put up much of a fight against Dancougar Nova, you can be sure that they will be better prepared next time!**

**However, now that Dancougar Nova has entered the scene, things seem to have become a little more complicated. Considering nobody as of now really knows who is piloting that robot or what its objective is, I'd say this is cause for worry! At the moment, the higher-ups of Dannar Base, the Gran Knights and the Gutsy Geoid Guard - yes, you heard me, the heroes from GaoGaiGar! - are discussing the matter at the moment, and you can be sure that things will get much more heated later on. Especially when you consider that a new player will soon enter the battlefield...**

**Okay, here we are! Are you ready to enter the world of Super Robot Wars oonce again... and maybe discover what Mist, our not-so-beloved protagonist, is up to? The long wait is over, so get ready to rumble!**

**oooooooooo**

**Chapter 6 - Dancougar Nova**

The news seemed to be quite shocking to all of the Dannar Base crew, and to the Gran Knights as well... the only exceptions, of course, were Eiji, Luna and Mist, who had no idea what Kotaro Taiga had just spoken of. To them, the words Dancougar Nova were little more than cool-sounding gibberish. Of course, judging from the others' reactions to this name, it must have been quite a serious matter...

"Dancougar Nova, huh?" Miyuki mused, her expression turning sour for a split second. "Well, now this is interesting... I never thought it would be under these circumstances."

"_It appears that Dancougar Nova intervened to stop Phantom Pain, LOGOS' elite military force, from wiping out a resistance cell in Eurasia._" Taiga explained, his eyes narrowing like a stalking lion's at the mention of the shadowy organization. "_Three Gundam-like units were also part of that squadron, but none of them really managed to be a match for Dancougar Nova._"

"Indeed..." Kiriko mused, rubbing her slender chin as she nodded. "I can see that this unknown robot is quite a formidable opponent, and we would be in quite some trouble if it actually turned out to be an enemy. Still, we can be glad it's doing the job of taking out Phantom Pain for us, at least for now."

"However, that still leaves the question of the motives of whoever is behind it." Sandman said. "As of now, we know that Dancougar Nova randomly appears in areas of the world where warfare is more violent, and always intervenes to fight along the losing side, only to retreat once balance of power has been restored. It is not inconceivable that Dancougar Nova might return to fight against those it helped in the past, should it appear that they're getting the upper hand."

"What?" Mist asked himself. "I really can't for the life of me understand why it would do that..."

Kotaro nodded gravely. "_Dancougar Nova seems to know no good nor evil. It is a wild card that could potentially affect the crisis in a very significant way, so it will be important to keep an eye out for it._"

"Of course. The sooner we understand its modus operandi, the better." Kagemaru said with a frown. "We will keep investigating on its whereabouts, but we might need some help with that, especially in the light of the current Mimetic Beast crisis."

"_Of course._" was Kotaro's answer. "_I will inform the Gutsy Geoid Guard personnel of the current situation as soon as possible, and I am sure we will be able to work out a rendez-vous soon enough. Hopefully, a cooperation between us will lead to a faster resolution._"

"This is our hope as well, Commander Taiga." Sandman answered. "We are grateful for your cooperation, as we trust we will be able to work out our next move soon enough. For now, we wish you good luck."

"_Likewise!_" Taiga answered, grinning cockily as the communication faded, leaving the large screen blank once again. Kagemaru cleared his throat, before giving the crew the new orders.

"Very well, everyone. For now, we'll remain on standby, and get ready to intervene should a Mimetic Beast or any other danger show up again." he said. "Later on, we will meet up with the Gutsy Geoid Guard crew and work out a plan to deal with Dancougar Nova and the encroaching dangers. Are there any questions?"

Luna raised her hand. "Commander Kagemaru, could I ask about the Gutsy Geoid Guard? I've heard about them from my father and Mr. Sandman on occasion, but I don't know much about them..." she asked, with Mist nodding in agreement.

"The same goes for me." the red-haired boy continued. "Who are these guys, and what's their business?"

Kagemaru nodded again, a small smile playing on his hardened face. "Glad you asked. I guess you could say they're a secret organization created by the ORB government to fight alien threats, following an accident that happened more than eight years ago. At that time, an unknown object fell on Earth, causing widespread panic and destruction. While we had no idea who it was at the time, it was actually an alien, sentent creature calling itself EI-01, sent to invade Earth and bringing four other Zonderians like itself to aid it in accomplishing this task. After its initial drop, EI-01 aka Pasder travelled underground towards ORB, absorbing many types of machinery in the process while evading detection and finally settling right below Tokyo Tower. It then waited, biding its time for the moment where it could rise and realize the Zonerians' plans to turn Earth into a single, planet-sized machine. However, the Gutsy Geoid Guard was founded to combat this threat... and thanks to their mighty robots and especially their ace unit GaoGaiGar, they eventually managed to defeat Pasder and his Four Machine Kings, averting a terrible danger... but I guess telling you the whole story would be needlessly time-consuming. You just needto know that they've been staunch allies of ours ever since, and I'm sure many of you will be glad to know them."

"Sweet! I sure am pumped up for this!" Eiji said, clenching his fist and smiling in anticipation. However, not that far away from him, the blonde and buxom Miyuki Tachibana seemed to be deep in thought, and in fact, she had been that way ever since the words Dancougar Nova had been heard. It must have carried some significance to her, though Miyuki was a good enough actress not to let anything slip through. She just nodded to herself, thinking about the strange irony of her situation.

"So, Dancougar Nova... soon we might be crossing paths, it seems..." she thought to herself. "Very good... how it plays out, though... is for show!"

**oooooooooo**

Some time later, inside Dannar Base's simulation room...

"Alright! I cleared it!" Anna shouted enthusiastically, her left fist pumped in the air as the words 'RANK-A CLEAR' appeared on her simulator screen. The young bride-to-be had proven herself to be quite a natural at handling a combat robot, and her mother could frankly not remember anyone getting so good in such little time. Except for Milla...

Again, a growing suspicion rose unbidden to the back of her mind, but the red-headed scientist quickly shoved it back. This was not the time to think about it. Sure, there wasn't much room for doubt, but what if she had been wrong? Bringing it up right now would have had no other effect than needlessly upsetting both Goh and Anna, so she decided to keep quiet about it...

"A nice job indeed, Anna!" Kimiko praised her daughter, who emerged from her simulator's cockpit and gave a victory sign with her fingers, a beaming smile on her cute face. "I think you're ready to try with the highest difficulty level."

Anna's eyes widened a little. "Huh? Wasn't the one I just cleared Rank A? You mean, there's one right above even that?"

"There is, Anna..." Goh answered, standing near the computer and scratching the back of his head in embarassment. Being in charge of following his beloved's training was somewhat awkward to him... "In fact, our computer has been programmed for an S-Rank test, and if you're ready for that... well, we can run the simulation right now."

The spunky redhead nodded and went back in to the simulator's cockpit. "Gotcha, Goh-chin! Crank the difficuly level all the way to the top! I'm sure I can take it!" she said, before closing the hatch behind her. Goh cleared his throat and punched a few commands into the console, bringing the difficulty level for the simulator to the maximum before giving the start signal. The simulator immediately began flashing to life, and Anna frantically moved her controls in order to follow the targets and hit them at the right moment...

"Well, she's really enthusiastic about it, don't you think so?" Kimiko said, calmly walking to Goh, who just kept staring in the distance. "She's definitely giving it all of her own. I think she'll make for an excellent pilot in very little time."

The large man adjusted his glasses, trying to look nonchalant. "Er... well, Dr. Aoi, I have to admit, she's making some solid progresses." he commented. "Though, I still have to wonder whether she'll be ready for the upcoming battles. I mean, things are going to get tough..."

The red-haired woman chuckled. "My, my... I never though the day would come when you'd doubt Anna's spunk." she said. "I mean, you were the one who was eventually won over by her persistance. Or do we have to once again talk about the time where you literally groveled at my feet in order to convince me to let you marry her?"

Goh grit his teeth, and his face took on an interesting purple hue! "Ugh... Dr. Aoi, didn't we say we would not bring that accident up anymore?"

"Hehehee... I was just kidding!" she answered, before casting a glance at the console's screens. Sure, Anna was doing rather well for now, but... "Hm. She's doing fine for an S-rank simulation, but I'm afraid she still hasn't gotten the technique. If it goes like this..."

The run didn't last much longer. A few seconds later, the sound of a loud crash was heard from the simulator, which meant that Anna hadn't managed to keep up with the increased speed of the targets. The program halted and the machine powered down, allowing a rather befuddled Anna to climb down.

"That... didn't go too well, I gather..." Goh commented.

"It didn't. At all..." Anna murmured, clearly disappointed by what, in her opinion, was a pretty lackluster performance. "But I don't understand what just happened... I kept my eyes on the target the whole time, and I never let it go..."

"Actually, I think that would be the problem, Anna..." Kiriko answered, having gotten an idea of what her daughter's problem with that simulation was by simply viewing it onscreen. "As you said, you kept your eyes on the target the whole time. Now, this is normally the sensible thing to do, as it allows you to lock on the target and shoot it with optimal accuracy. However, in the S-Rank simulation, it's just not good enough. The targets move with such speed that your eyes simply cannot keep up with them, so that you cannot rely on your sight to reliably clear this difficulty level. What you need to do, instead, is try to use your gut feeling and your experience with the previous difficulty levels to try and predict where the opponent is going to move. In other words, forget your perceptions, and just go with the flow. I wish there was a more... scientific, let's say... way to deal with this difficulty level, but this is the most reliable tip I can give you."

"I went through the S-Rank simulation lots of times... and the first few times, I did the same thing you just did now. Got knocked out in five seconds flat." Goh answered. "However, to gain full clearance to be a Dannar Base pilot, you have to at least gain a good enough score in this test. I know it's a rather tall order, but the situation we're in calls for these extreme measures."

Kiriko knew all too well that the need for qualified pilots was just one of the reasons Goh was so adamant on having his wife-to-be get through this training; the other one was easier still to guess for someone who knew of Goh's past and the previous tragedy he had to deal with. Since having Anna stay on the sidelines was not an option at this point, he at least wanted her to be as well-trained as possible, in order for her to have an higher chance of surviving the war. Anna herself understood that, and her disappointment over her low score quickly turned into determination to do better.

"Alright, Goh-chin!" she exclaimed. "Just watch me! I'll clear the S-Rank test before you can imagine it!". With that, she disappeared inside the simulator once again, and Goh rolled his eyes slightly as he turned back to the console in order to run the program once again...

**oooooooooo**

One shot. Another. And another. The targets fell in short order before they could even get close to the Levrias, and Mist nodded to himself as he saw the simulated enemies disappear into nothingness... but one of them had managed to slip thorugh the shots, getting dangerously close! Gritting his teeth, Mist pulled back and barely managed to block the hit by raising his sword-gun, before countering with a vicious overhead slash that turned the enemy into smithreens...

And the simulation prompty shut down, leaving the red-haired young man in the cockpit of his simulator, breathing a sigh of relief. That was a little too close for confort...

"That's still not good enough..." Mist said to himself, looking at his hand covered in a fingerless leather glove. "I still haven't regained my piloting skill, and I'm afraid I won't be able to last long, if they reappeared here... which I'm afraid will be the case. I hate all this fighting and killing, but this time, much as I hate to admit it, it might be a necessity to do so. The lives of billions of people are riding on this..."

Still, as of now he was too exhausted to continue his training, and it was late in the evening anyway... so, he turned his simulator off and unfastened his seat belt, sighing in relief as he stepped down from the simulator's cockpit. The other simulators in the room, perfect replicas of the Gran Divas piloted by Sandman's Gran Knights, continued functioning for some time before they too shut down one by one, allowing their tired but satisfied pilots to get out.

"Ooooh, man, I'm busted!" Luna said, stretching the kinks out of her. "First thing I'm doing as soon as we get back home, is getting a nice hot shower, and then heading straight to bed! This has been such a tiring day..."

"Y'know, for once, I actually have to agree with miss Luna here!" Eiji said snarkily. "Man, to think we came here to be the guests of honor to a wedding... and instead, we get to fight some monstrosity that came from God-knows-where, and crashes the wedding! And we even got that Blue Cosmos jackass to try and boss us around... Hey, Mist, man, how are you doin'?"

"Could be better..." Mist answered, chuckling a little in order to relieve the tension of the day. "It's been quite a long time since I quit being a professional pilot, and I'm afraid I have a few things to relearn. Let's just say I'm out of practice, and I hope I can get it back soon."

"I would not worry about that too much." Leele gently said. "After all, Mr. Mist, you have been a great help when fighting those Mimetic Beasts."

"I would agree with Leele." Touga answered, smiling that carefree smile of his as he approached Mist. "Your Levrias is quite a fine machine, and it was a great help. We would be glad to fight alongside you again."

Mist smiled sadly as he rubbed his right temple. Those kids didn't realize it yet, but what was going on was going on was way bigger than ay of them could imagine... bigger than the Mimetic Beasts, the Zeravire, Blue Cosmos or even the Bloody Valentine War that had ended only a couple years before. They would not be ready to fight that... only he could avert that threat, and save the planet he was beginning to consider his new home, in spite of all its faults...

"By the way, where's the bride-to-be now?" Mizuki asked out of curiosity. "Is she still doing her training regime?"

"I believe so, Mizuki..." Eina said, adjusting her glasses. "After all, she is the newest member of the Dannar Base crew, and if she is to be up to speed for the battles against the Mimetic Beasts, she will need to undergo an intense training program. They just don't have the time to do it the slow, gradual way."

"I see..." Luna answered, feeling a little sorry for Anna. She did have to undergo training in order to pilot her Gran Diva, but at least she did have some time to start acclimating to her piloting duty... "Well, what about it? Shall we go pay her a visit, just to make her see we're right behind her?"

"Not a bad idea." Mizuki answered. As soon as all the Gravion pilots and Mist had picked up all their belongings and left the simulation room, heading to the gym... where Anna was at the moment undergoing what, under normal circumstances, would have been your run-of-the-mill swimming lesson. Considering it was part of Anna's intense training program, it was anything but ordinary: it consisted of Anna having to swim upstream against an ever-increasing artificially-induced current. It was impressive to even see her struggling against the rushing waters... and it was even more impressive to see how valliantly she kept at it, even though exhaustion was setting in. Goh, Kiriko, Kouji and Shizuru were watching from a nearby bulletproof glass, obviously anxious to see how she would have held up.

"Hey, if it isn't the Gran Knights and Mist!" Kouji greeted the team as they approached the training room. "Well, how did the simulation go? Did you get good scores?"

"We can say we're satisfied for now." Touga said, nodding seriously at the hot-blooded Dannar Base pilot. "What about miss Aoi? She's really giving it all she's got, we can see..."

"Well, Anna has always been the persistent kind..." Shizuru commented with a slight smile. She had to admit, her stubborn will to prevail was not the only thing she envied about Anna... "And you should have seen her during the ombat simulation. I've never seemn anyone breeze so easily through the various levels of difficulty! She only had to stop once she reached the S-Rank tests. And she's been scoring consistently high scores in all the checks she went through today."

"Heh, the little girl means business!" Eiji commented. "Goh, man, you sure are lucky finding a girl like her!"

Trying to cough some embarassment away, the large bespectacled man called for attention to what seemed to be the last part of that particular training session. "Ah-ehm... anyway, before everything is said ad done, we need to see how she fares in this final part of the test!" he said, pointing at the swimming pool where Anna, her body dotted with several plaques that detected her vital signs and clad in a form-fitting one-piece black swimsuit, was visibly struggling to keep up with the current. Her arms and legs began moving even more frantically, as she swam faster and faster against the current that had reached its maximum pressure. That was the most important moment of the test indeed... this was where Anna's endurance and willpower were put to the test the most!

"C'mon... I can... do... this..." Anna gasped between breaths that were getting harder to take. "I... can't... let... up... not... now..."

Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and the last minute of the test looked more like an hour to both the Dannar Base pilots and Anna herself... but finally, just as the red-haired girl was using up the last of her strength just to keep herself afloat, the stream slowed down gradually, until finally it stopped and let Anna relax in the now-calm waters. Anna wheezed and walked over the edge of the pool, where she collapsed breathlessly, causing Goh and Kiriko to gasp in alarm.

"Hey, look at her!" Mist exclaimed. "I don't think she's feeling well right now..."

Anna's mother and husband-to-be quickly rushed inside the training room to support the redhead... who simply looked up as if nothing had happened and gave both a thumbs-up and a beaming smile!

"You saw that? Piece o' cake!" Anna commented. "Told ya I could manage that!"

Kiriko blinked twice in puzzlement... then put an hand in front of her mouth and chuckled in amusement. Goh, on the other hand, was not quite so amused by Anna's joke, and after a short moment of surprise, he smacked his hand on his forehead and shook his head no!

"Ugh... I wish you were more serious about this, Anna!"

**oooooooooo**

The loud beeping of an alarm clock resonated in the darkened apartment, followed by a slender feminine hand clutching it from above and silencing it. Soon after, a sleepy moan was heard from below the blankets, and a figure moved and stood up from the bed, rubbing her still-sleepy eyes.

The day seemed to have started quite early for 23-year-old Aoi Hidaka, a young woman of striking presence whose life had taken a turn for the strange only a few days ago. Well, not that her life had been what one would call ordinary even back before... but it was only a few days ago that things actually got weird.

It had been rather normal at first - she, a professional Formula One racer, had taken part in a big competition, where she had managed to score first place, and gain herself a sizeable price and the cheers of all her numerous fans. However, as she went back to her room and relaxed a little before the inevitable interviews, pleasantries and whatnot, a strange feeling had come over her... and before she could understand what was going on, she had blacked out, only awakening a few hours later on a soft bed, inside an unfamiliar room. And she was not alone, either... as it turned out, three more people had had the exact same thing happen to them.

In the end, the truth was far weirder than Aoi herself could imagine: she, along with those other three, had been "chosen" by a mysterious secret organization to be the pilots of a powerful combining robot called Dancougar Nova, whose duty was to keep the balance of power between warring factions, in order to make sure nobody got too powerful. And they had been offered quite a lot of money for such a dangerous job... with the caveat that, should they have refused, the Dragon's Hive would have had to erase their memories of the whole incident - secrecy and all, they had said as an excuse.

Aoi sighed and wrapped the covers of her bed around herself, before a small device on top of her drawer began beeping loudly. Frowning a little, the young woman picked it up and activated it, and the holografic image of a blonde young girl of about fifteen, dressed in a dark yellow uniform, her hair kept combed by a small circlet, appeared in front of her and bowed in greeting. "Good morning, Ms. Hidaka! I apologize for the early call, but we needed to make sure you were okay, after yesterday's sortie!" she said, in an all-too-cheerful tone.

"Oh, it's you..." Aoi murmured. She and the other three "kidnapped" people had met that strange girl right after awakening, and she had introduced herself as their consultant and their guide to the Dragon's Hive. Not to mention, she was the one who had introduced them to the one who seemed to be the top hog in all that mess. "Well, nice to see you... it was Ruri-Ruri, or something?"

"It is Ruu Riruri, actually." the blonde girl corrected. While she never lost her affable demeanor, Aoi had already noticed that the mispronunciation of her name seemed to be a pet peeve of that kid. "Anyway, I hope I am not intruding at a private moment."

"Shouldn't you have thought of that before you made the call? Oh well... no matter." Aoi answered, running a delicate hand through her hair. Aoi was truly a striking young woman, tall and physically fit, with long red hair that was a little messy on the forehead and on top of her head, but flowed smoothly doen her back, almost reaching her hips. Her eyes were red as well, but despite this, there was never anything threatening about them. They just seemed natural on her, and indeed they gave her an air of warmth and generosity. At the moment, she was throwing on a pale green robe, the bare minimum not to be exposed. "Next time, remember that I don't like being seen when I have just woken up. Especially by men."

"Okay, I'll remember that." Ruu Riruri answered with a nod, never losing that smile of hers, her purple eyes almost shining with curiosity. "Anyway, before I lose track of what I was going to say... Mr. Tanaka would like to confer with you four about yesterday's battle, and discuss about our next moves. Can you join us in about, say, an hour?"

"Now, hold on a second, kiddo. I still haven't decided whether I want to join your little association or not." Aoi answered as she slowly paced towards her apartment's kitchen in order to grab some breakfast. "And for the record, I am not a fan of the idea of you erasing my memories of Dancougar Nova should I turn down your generous offer."

Ruu averted her glance, clearly embarassed by the subject. "Well, I don't really care for that myself... but you must understand, it is vital for us of the Dragon's Hive to keep our existance a secret to the world." she said.

Aoi sighed. She had the feeling she had been roped into something she couldn't escape from very easily... yet, if she had to be completely honest to herself, she didn't really dislike the idea of becoming a pilot for that powerful machine. Back then, when she and her three companions were fighting the Phantom Pain forces, being able to command Dancougar Nova's weapons had been quite the experience. It had given her a shiver of pleasure to be in that battle zone... she had never felt more alive than that time, when she was risking life and limb. And besides which... while the other three pilots were perfect strangers to her, she was curious to know a little more about them. Who knew, that may even have turned out to be cool. "Anyway, tell your boss I will be ready to come soon. The usual means of transportations, right?" she said, referring to the peculiar way she and the other three designated pilots had been transported to the Dragon's Hive. A strange, hyper-technological vehicle had simply teleported them to the secret organization's HQ...

Ruu nodded. "Yep! Therefore, try to be ready for that time! See you soon, Ms. Hidaka!" she cheerfully waved her hand, before she disappeared from Aoi's visual. The Formula One racer sighed again before placing the transmitter back in its place. Nothing to do now, but get ready and make that trip to Dragon's Hive.

"Alright, then... let's get this one over with." she told herself. "I'll speak with the others, and see what they think about it."

**oooooooooo**

One hour later...

Aoi had to admit, the feeling of having been teleported inside an high-tech base was quite strange, but nothing unpleasant nonetheless. As her eyes could focus again, the young woman stepped out of the teleporter to see that the other three Dancougar Nova pilots were already standing in the large room, only waiting for her to come.

"Bang on time, Ms. Hidaka." a young man about Aoi's age, with short blond hair and looking-glasses, dressed smartly as a salaryman, with a blue-violet suit on a white shirt, a red necktie and black shoes, said after casting a glance to his wristwatch. That was the only non-Japanese member of the quartet of pilots, Johnny Burnett, a salaryman from the Atlantic Federation that seemed to be the most knowledgeable about the world in general... if only because he spent most of his free time reading strange magazines that Aoi never even thought existed! That said, he seemed a rather personable guy, though Aoi had a hunch he was also a bit of a money-grabber. "We were only waiting for you to go report to Mr. Tanaka."

"I'm sure of it." Aoi answered, straightening her long, fiery red hair as she stepped outside, dressed in a yellow shirt with a jeans jacket, long ochra trousers and white trainers. She had opted for a more comfortable look for the day. "Alright then... if everyone is present, let's hear what the boss has in store for us."

Standing near Johnny were the other two members of the Dancougar Nova team: standing the closest to Johnny was Sakuya Kamon, a brown-haired man of about twenty-eight with a rather unkempt appearence, who acted and looked like a slacker: somewhat short for his age, he had brown hair combed in a series of "spikes", making him look younger than he really was, and other than that, Aoi only knew that he was an unemployed, homeless man who spent most of his time lunging around in the poorer parts of his city.

And finally, a little farther away, was the youngest member of the team at only 15 years of age - Kurara Tachibana, a petite blue-haired girl with deep brown eyes who looked rather intense for someone her age. In fact, Aoi supposed the reason for that was because, despite her tender age, she was already a very well-known policewoman working for Interpol, and she had already taken down her fair share of criminals, mob bosses, drug traffickers... and, above all, she had cleaned up her own division from corruption, when nobody would even give her the time of the day. She was dressed in a black sleeveless shirt with a pink collar, with a white skirt, thigh-high stockings and white ankle boots, and her gun was safely placed in a holster at her side.

After checking on everyone, the team began walking to the Dragon's Hive main room, only stopping when the door in front of them slid open, revealing a smiling Ruu Riruri joined by her strange robotic pet, a rabbit-like robot that seemed to follow her around wherever she went... and another person Aoi and her companion hadn't seen last time they had been there. A beautiful woman with tanned skin and blond hair tied in a ponytail, dressed in a rather revealing mechanic's outfit, stained with grease here and there. Aoi guessed that must have been the chief mechanic - after all, the Dragon's Hive workers did need to repair things from time to time.

"My, my, what interesting people we have here!" the newcomer said, eyeing the four pilots with curiosity in her bright blue eyes. "So... you're the ones who have been chosen to pilot my baby Dancougar Nova, huh? Best of luck to you all... and remember to treat Dancougar with care, or you're never gonna hear the end of it!" she exclaimed cheerfully, earning herself a few weirded-out glances. "Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Seimi, and I'm the chief mechanic around here! If you need something repaired, just call on me!"

"Er... thanks, I guess..." Sakuya murmured, as the two women began giuding the quartet towards the main room, going through a series of conveyor belts that passed near several windows. Taking advantage of that to cast a good glance at the surroundings, the four Dancougar Nova pilots could see that the Dragon's Hive had been built on a beautiful tropical island that seemed to have popped up right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - they were ready to bet that it wasn't even charted, which in fact was in line with the island's role as the HQ of a secret organization. A bright blue sky, with only a few scant cloud floating aaround, completed the soothing vista, along with the green palm trees and the golden beach.

"Do yuo like this place?" Ruu asked cheerfully. "As the consultant for all potential Dancougar pilots, it is my duty to also choose a place that allows for maximum relaxation and stress relief, and a tropical island was really the only logical choice for that!"

"You certainly think of everything, don't you?" Kurara said in a rather standoffish manner. It took more than a few little tricks to distract Kurara Tachibana... "But I should remind you that, when everything is said and done, you are still guilty of kidnapping, which is a serious crime. You should know that you will have to answer for that."

"We are well aware of that, miss Tachibana." Ruu answered with a nod, completely unfazed. "And we are obviously prepared to defend ourselves in that regard, or else you would not even be here in the first place. But that is not the reason why I brought you here today, so no need to worry about that just now! Please, make yourselves at home, ladies and gentlemen!"

"You sure have a weird way of making one feel at home... especially for someone like me who doesn't even have a home in the first place." Sakuya commented as the automatic door to the Dragon's Hive main room slid open with a low buzzing sound, and both Ruu and Seimi motioned for the four pilots to enter.

"Your lucky day, kids! The boss is in a particularly good mood today!" Seimi said, winking at the team. "I'm sure he's gonna give you some breaking news!"

The four, unimpressed by Seimi's optimism, orderly got in front of the chief's desk and stood at attention, just as the chair behind the desk turned in their direction and revealed the man sitting upon it: suave-looking, with a short stubble on his chin and small dark-tinted glasses perched upon his nose, he had short, dark green hair and wore what looked like a miliary uniform, except for the fact that it didn't belong to any military the four of them knew: it was dark blue, with some green and red highlights, long trousers and black shoes, which gave him a rather relaxed and jolly demeanor... completely at odds with his supposed role as the chief of a military organization. He was someone Aoi and the other Dancougar Nova pilots had already seen, right before having to head out to fight Phantom Pain the other day: Chief Tanaka, the commander-in-chief of Dragon's Hive and de facto owner of the Ryuuga Island, the uncharted place where the HQ were situated.

"Oh, welcome back, my friends!" Tanaka greeted the still-unconvinced quartet of pilots. "So, it seems none of you have decided to bail out just yet, which makes me very happy. If I am not being too nosy, may I know what reason brought you to decide in favor of our offer?"

"Well, for what concerns me, I had nothing better to do." Sakuya answered, his hands behind his head in a devil-may-care gesture. "In fact, it's not like I ever had much to do ever since I became homeless."

"My reason is a little more... personal, if you can call it that." was Aoi's explanation. "If I refused, then you would have to erase for my mind every single memory of Dancougar Nova. And I don't exactly take too kindly to people tampering with my memories. They are all very important to me, each one of them."

Kurara nodded. "Well, I can respect that. As for me... well, I decided to join you because I think this Dancougar Nova thing is even more mysterious than the Mafia I fight against every day. It'll be a more stimulating challenge." she said, before adding to herself. "_And besides which, any job that gives me a chance to throw some mud in Blue Cosmos' plans in a good job in my book._"

"I understand." Tanaka answered with a nod. "Well then, Mr. Burnett? You seem to be the only one who hasn't expresses his opinion yet. What do you say about that? Have you decided?"

"Well, it's not like I have taken a definitive decision." the blond salaryman answered, adjusting his glasses. "Everything has a trial period, am I correct? Still, I have to admit that I like that feeling of power that piloting Dancougar Nova gave to me, and the pay is very good too. So, I am definitely leaning towards accepting your deal."

Tanaka smiled radiantly as he clasped his hands in front of himself. "That's stellar news, everyone! I am sure we will be able to do a good job of it! Now, before we go any further, are there any questions you would like to ask of me? Yes, Hidaka, what is it?" he said, right before Aoi raised her hand.

The redhead cleared her throat. "Ah-ehm... actually, there are quite a few questions I'd like to ask... for example, what's with the big idea of interfering with conflicts in various parts of the world, so that there can never be a clear winner? And, more to the point... who exactly is running the whole thing? I don't think you would possess all the money and the resources you need to run such a huge organization, so... what's the truth?"

Tanaka nodded, keeping remarkably calm in front of the young Formula One champion's relentless questioning. "Hmm... as sharp as you're skilled, I see. Just what I would expect of Aoi Hidaka, after all!" he stated, causing Aoi to frown in annoyance. There was something about the way he had said so, that made the girl think he knew a lot more about her than he let through. "Er... anyway, this is a good question, in fact. Let me just say that there are some factions, in the Atlantic Federation, that disagree with how the higher-ups are running things, and some of them have been founding the Dancougar Nova project ever since it was first conceived. As of recent times, we have received huge foundings from the Allster family, who up until two years ago had been a staunch supporter of the Atlantic Federation."

Johnny nodded in satisfaction. Despite being a citizen of the Earth Alliance, he never had anything against Coordinators, and saw them as people instead of the monsters propaganda was hell-bent on depicting them as. To know that there were people other than him in the Atlantic Federation who agreed with his opinion was rather relieving.

"Furthermore..." Tanaka went on. "None of this would have been possible without the help of two people I am proud to call friends. Ladies and gentlemen... let me introduce you to the real minds behind the creation of the Dragon's Hive and Dancougar Nova!"

With a somewhat over-the-top gesture, Tanaka stepped sideways and pointed to the huge screen right behind him, which was already showing adarkened room... and a mysterious person sitting in the shadows, a shady-looking man of indeterminate age - though he still looked quite young - with pale skin and wearing a white shirt, with whom his long, curly dark hair created a sharp contrast. He was sitting at a wooden desk, and his air of mysyery was only enhanced by the fact that little more could be seen of him.

"That will do, Tanaka. Thank you for your help." the mysterious man said in a calm voice before addressing the quartet. "I am, indeed, one of the founders of the Dancougar Nova project. You can call me Fog Sweeper, or FS for short. I am not going to bore you with details, all you really need to know is that I am responsible for getting several important personalities all around the world to lend their contribution to this project which might shape the very future of the Earth."

"Fog Sweeper, huh?" Kurara said, her brown eyes narrowed at the enigmatic person. "How do we know we can trust you? You are not exactly being very forthcoming, in this whole deal."

"Your suspicions are understandable, miss Tachibana." Fog Sweeper answered, never losing a bit of his stoic countenance. "However, things will be revealed to you in due time and, since you have pretty much already accepted the deal you have been offered, we kindly ask you to be patient. Answers will come on their own accord."

Kurara nodded, understanding that, shadowy as he may have been, FS did have a point.

"That is good." FS continued. "However, I am at liberty of introducing you to the one who came up with the Dancougar Nova project in the first place. The Artificial Intelligence we have dubbed WILL."

FS turned his chair sideways just a little... and, right in front of his desk, the holographic projection of an alien, eerie-looking creature began taking shape: it was nothing more than an innaturally perfect disembodied head, with metallic white skin etched with strange vein-like circuits, and expressionless black eyes with white pupils, that seemed to stare into the distance before of it. It seemed to be wearing a large hat that gave its head a shape not unlike an inverted cone. Its expression was completely emotionless, its mouth set in a firm, robotic frown, and the strange resemblance to a human face only served to give the strange creature an "uncanny valley" feel to it. Despite not having been very impressed one way or another beforehand, Aoi found herself widening her eyes and gaping at the newcomer.

"_I am WILL. I am an Artificial Intelligence, and the Dragon's Hive main computer._" it spoke, in a metallic droning. "_I will answer to all your questions regarding Dancougar Nova._"

"Well, will you look at that..." Sakuya said in wonder. "This is getting more and more like one of those sci-fi movies, isn't it?"

Johnny sighed. "Well, that's not exactly how I would put it... but I see your point. So, WILL... exactly, why have we been chosen to pilot Dancougar Nova?"

"_First off, it should be noted that Dancougar Nova is a countermeasure against terrorism, war or conflict._" WILL spoke. "_Its main purpouse is to cause both warring factions to reach a stalemate and exhaust themselves, so that there cannot be a winner, and neither faction can get too much of an advantage. As you probably already have been told, Dancougar Nova fights for the faction that is at a disadvantage, in order to re-estabilish the balance of power. Good and evil do not enter the equation. Dancougar Nova simply fights for the losing faction._"

The four pilots were somewhat confused by this whole explanation... and Johnny most of all. "Well, this is a strange breed of logic, if I ever heard it..." the blond salaryman answered. "In other words, our duty is to make sure no conflict ever gets resolved unless said resolution involves both parties getting exhausted?"

"Sounds very much like an article I read once." Sakuya said with barely-concealed pride. "By Isabelle Cronkite, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Hey, don't look at me like that, Johnny, even the homeless read papers! They're so easy to come by, it's not even funny!"

"_There is an important caveat to this._" WILL went on. "_This policy does not apply to the invading aliens and to other forces that are threatening humanity at large, such as the Zeravire or the Mimetic Beasts. Dancougar Nova's objective is also to protect mankind and preserve Earth. Should humanity be wiped out, Dancougar Nova's very existance would cease to have meaning._"

"Well... that kinda goes without saying." Aoi said snarkily.

"But that still doesn't answer an important issue." Kurara spoke up. "Which is, why have we been chosen as Dancougar Nova's pilots? Why us, and not someone else?"

"The issue is more important than you might realize, agent Tachibana." Fog Sweeper answered, speaking again. "But this is not the time for all the answers. For now, it should suffice to say that you were not chosen at random. For starters, notice that all of your blood types are different, as well as your personalities. It takes a unity of seemingly different elements to bring out Dancougar Nova's full power."

The teenaged cop was probably about to add something more to her question... when an alarm sound reverberated through the room, causing the four pilots, as well as the other people present with them, to turn in the direction of the sound. Laid-back as usual, Tanaka smiled to himself. "Well, regretfully, the time for talk has past." he commented. "It seems that a new threat has popped up near Tokyo... and we've identified it to be a Zeravire. Goody, and here I thought it was strange that they hadn't shown up in quite some time... well, everyone, let us postpone the rest of our conversation. Please, get ready to get onboard your respective vehicles... and head to the crisis point!"

"And make sure to treat all those machines with care!" Seimi said, winking. "I know I am the best when it comes to fixing machines up, but I still care about my little babies!"

"O... kay..." Aoi murmured uneasily, a huge sweatdrop pouring down the back of her head. "Geez, we just had to have one of those nutcases who thinks machines are children or something for our chief mechanic..."

"The Zeravire's ETA is about one hour." FS stated, after taking a look at his computers. "More than enough time for us to intervene and intercept it. However, do be careful. It is highly likely that the main Zeravire has taken some drones with it, and other robots will definitely come to combat the threat as well. I have no idea what their reaction to us might be."

"Understood, we'll be careful." Johnny answered. "The fact that we might find ourselves facing them as the enemy sometime does not mean we should antagonize them right off the bat..."

**oooooooooo**

Indeed, Dragon's Hive was not the only place where the threat of the incoming Zeravire had been intercepted. The ever-alert Dannar Base, their mechs repaired and in full function after the battle with the Mimetic Beasts, were already mobilizing and getting ready to intervene... as well the Gran Divas, with Eiji and the rest of the Gran Knights at the controls! At the moment, commander Kagemaru was briefing the pilots in the Dannar Base's main control room, illustrating them what was going on with the latest threat.

"Alright, this is the current situation." the Dannar Base commander stated, illustrating a screen upon which the danger zone was highlighted in blinking red. "An alien life form, identified as a Zeravire. At the moment, it's descending upon Tokyo... luckily, we've already warned the population, and the evacuation of the area is proceeding smoothly. Alll we have to do is step in and take down the Zeravire before it does too much damage."

Touga nodded, his eyes taking on a serious, determined glint. The blue-haired youth was faced with the kind of situation he had been trained since early childhood to face... and, as usually was the case in these situations, his apparent absent-mindedness had dropped completely, leaving the toughened soldier behind. "We understand. We will intervene right away, and stop the Zeravire. Are we expecting more enemies to show up?"

"Not at the moment." Kagemaru answered. "However, do not drop your guard. You of all people should realize how unpredictable and dangerous these creatures can be."

Luna nodded grimly. It was common knowledge that no two Zeravire were alike, and one only had to wonder what kind of new threat the defenders of the Earth were going to face in this occasion. However, up until now, they had always been able to find a weak spot in every Zeravire. It was just a matter of finding this one's, and hopefully it would have been smooth sailing.

Goh, for his part, was a little worried about his partner. "Anna, I would like to remind you to be careful..." he stated. "The Zeravire are very much different from the Mimetic Beasts, and you will have to adopt a wholly different technique to face them. Do you feel up to it?"

"Goh-chin, you've been asking me that lots of time already..." Anna answered. "Of course I am ready! I wouldn't have signed up as the Neo Okusaer's pilot if I wasn't feeling ready."

"Right..." Goh answered with a small sigh. "In any case, stay near me, don't be too reckless, and get ready for the joining as soon as this opponent proves to be too tough for Godannar alone."

Anna nodded, as the briefing ended, and the pilots began heading to their machines. "Alright, no more needs to be added." Kagemaru answered. "Everybody scramble to your respective machines, and get ready for the battle. Best of luck to all of you."

The pilots all saluted, before rushing to the hangars, with Kouji being blatantly enthusiastic about the chance to show off again. "Yeeee-haw! Way to go! This time, I'm gonna show all of you what I'm made of!"

"You'll have to deal wih me first!" Eiji replied with a cocky grin. "When it comes to taking out Zeravires, we're the authorities in the field!"

"Oh, man... the bulls have begun butting heads!" Luna murmured snarkily, hoping the two of them would not start some silly competition for whoever racked more kills right in the middle of the battlefield. Knowing those two, it was more than probable that they would do that...

Mist, for his part, kept quiet and focused on the misssion at hand. As long as they were dealing with a Zeravire, at least, things would have been easier... the real threat was still to come.

**oooooooooo**

"_My lord and master... the new Zeravire has been sent. It and the drone squad should arrive on Earth soon, and meet with the Earth resistance in due time._"

"_EXCELLENT. THAT WILL BE A GOOD WAY TO TEST THEIR CAPABILITIES AND SEE HOW LONG THEY WILL BE ABLE TO HOLD UP. BUT REMEMBER, WE ARE NOT TO COMPLETELY DESTROY THEM NOW. BEFORE WE PROCEED WITH PURGING HUMANITY, WE NEED TO DRAW OUT THE EDAX AND ANNIHILATE THEM AS WELL._"

"_I am well aware of that, master... I am sure this Zeravire will be able to put a sizeable dent in the Earthlings' defences without destroying them completely. By the way, master, I have some news that should be of interest to you._"

"_SPEAK UP THEN, MY FAITHFUL. WHAT IS IT?_"

"_It appears that a new Earth weapon will soon take to the battlefield and meet with our Zeravire and the drones. We do not have many informations about it, but we have identified it as Dancougar Nova._"

For a moment, the mysterious master remained silent, as if the news were surprising to him... then, he cracked what could reasonably be considered a smile, and a series of deep, menacing chuckles left his throat, as if he was amused by this new development. "_HUHUHUHUHUUU... HOW INTERESTING INDEED! DANCOUGAR NOVA, IS THAT? IT APPEARS MY COUNTERPART HAS STILL DECIDED TO STRUGGLE AGAINST DESTINY AND WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE UNIVERSE! DOESN'T MATTER... SOON ENOUGH, THE FUTILITY OF IT ALL SHALL BE APPARENT TO HIM. WE WON'T EVEN HAVE TO DO ANYTHING... HUMANITY ITSELF WILL PROVE ME RIGHT._"

"_We know, master... we know that very well..._"

**oooooooooo**

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**I was trying to make this chapter a little longer, but I seem to have hit a snag in my intent... which is, I cannot find my Gravion Zwei episodes! Anyway, I am currently working to remedy this, so that you won't have to wait too long for an update! Anyway, what I was aiming for in this chapter has been achieved - I managed to introduce the Dancougar Nova pilots, and they seem to be a bit of a wild card for now. Will they be able to work alongside the Dannar Base and Gran Knights in the long run, or will the two factions come to blows before an agreement can be reached?**

**By the way, there is a hint in this chapter that someone might still be around... did you manage to see it? ^_^**

**We will begin answering all these questions next time! For the moment, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, and I hope it won't take too long for the next one to come out! Peace out, everyone! **


End file.
